What Can You Do With a Biomedical Engineering Degree? DU Alumni Show the Way

For five years, DU alum Gary Doan (BS ’19, MS ’21) has helped doctors fine-tune surgeries with the use of robotics. As a systems engineer for DePuy Synthes in Boston, Doan designs updates for the Velys Robotic-Assisted Solution, a robotic arm used by surgeons to position implants during knee replacements. 

It’s a product Doan understands well: In his last year at DU, DePuy Synthes approached graduate students to assess the arm’s accuracy, and he spent months studying it. 

“I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed the field of biomechanics,” says Doan, who earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering. “It’s very fulfilling work.” 

Biomedical engineering combines medicine and engineering to invent new technologies and treatments for patients. The Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science already has a robust PhD program in biomedical engineering, but a new bachelor’s program launching this fall allows students to enter the field sooner. Biomedical engineers are in demand: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an annual 1,300 jobs will be created through 2034, with a median income of more than $100,000 in 2024. Colorado had one of the country’s highest concentrations of biomedical engineering jobs in 2023.

Associate Professor Chadd Clary, who researches medical devices and joint replacements, says it’s about more than jobs: It’s about improving outcomes for patients. 

“Historically, if you were a surgeon putting in a knee implant, you thought you did a good job if you were within three degrees of your target,” says Clary. “Now, thanks to biomedical engineers and surgical robotics, you’re within a tenth of a degree. That’s pretty substantial when it comes to the way the ligaments, tendons, and muscles around the knee work.” 

Precision also plays a key role in hip replacements. Brittany Marshall (MS ’20) works for DePuy Synthes as a senior engineer for its Velys Hip Navigation software. During an operation, a machine takes x-rays of a patient and sends them to the Velys software, which analyses the images and projects them on a screen for surgeons to reference. 

“The incision that a surgeon makes during a hip replacement is so small that they don’t have a lot of visibility,” says Marshall. “The x-ray images allow them to know exactly where they are.”

Currently, surgeons need to go through the x-rays and identify different “anatomical landmarks,” or reference points, to determine where to place an implant. But Marhsall is working on a new product that would use artificial intelligence to find landmarks. 

“Then the surgeon would review the output of the AI, instead of having to take the time to find every individual point,” Marshall explains. “We’re giving them the technology to be more efficient.”

Choose your own path

The term “biomedical engineering” actually encompasses a wide range of fields, and the BS program at DU gives students the foundation and freedom to find their niche. Clary, Marshall, and Doan are all mechanical engineers researching and developing medical devices for orthopedics, but mechanical engineering can also apply to issues of the heart or how cells react to different drugs. Bioelectrical engineers, meanwhile, might work on issues of the nervous system, while computer engineers might build software and AI to interpret biological data. Clary says even sales can fall under biomedical engineering. 

“Biomedical engineers make great salespeople,” he notes. “If you’re selling highly technical devices, you need engineers to help doctors and surgeons use those tools.” 

At DU, biomedical engineering majors can minor in engineering, computing, or business to focus on the areas that interest them most. Students can also pursue the major on a pre-med track. 

Those who don’t know where they want to focus have no need to worry: Clary says all biomedical engineering majors start with foundational courses in subjects like biomechanics and regulatory affairs. 

“The first two years you spend building a basic understanding of engineering,” he says. “As you get more advanced, you apply that in different ways, like research.”

Careers with impact

While Doan recommends students take advantage of internships and co-ops during their studies, it was his research at DU that got him a job at DePuy Synthes. Doan says he never considered biomechanics until researching with Clary as an undergrad. When DePuy Synthes approached DU a few years later, looking for graduate researchers to study the Velys Robotic-Assisted Solution, he jumped at the chance. 

“That became my thesis,” says Doan. “Because of all that product knowledge, I had a better holistic understanding of their products from the start.”

Clary says students in the BS program can gain research experience early by assisting graduate researchers and contributing to faculty-led projects. DU is home to multiple research centers that study biomedical engineering, including the Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging, the Center for Orthopaedic Biomechanics, and the Center for Advanced Biosensing Engineering.

Marshall also credits her experience at DU for helping her get a job at DePuy Synthes. She says biomedical engineering is a challenging but rewarding field. 

“I’ve been in the operating room and have seen our products used by surgeons,” says Marshall. “It’s really cool and humbling to think, ‘We designed that, and I’m watching a patient get the benefits.’”

Students can learn more about the new biomedical engineering program here. Admitted students can declare this major when they arrive in the fall quarter. Current students will also have the ability to switch majors in the fall if they so choose.