Lakshmi Prasad Dasi, professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory (BME), has been appointed as the department’s associate chair for undergraduate studies.

Dasi, who has been with the Coulter Department since 2020, is also a researcher in the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. His studies are focused on prosthetic heart valves, cardiovascular biomechanics, biomaterials, and devices. In addition to his work at Coulter BME, Dasi is also engaged in an international effort to develop low cost heart valves in low-resource countries and has received special funding from the NIH as well as Indian government in this effort.

He also has a track record of developing undergraduate degree programs, designing problem-based learning curriculum, advising students at all levels.

“I am incredibly excited and honored to serve the Coulter BME department in this new leadership role,” says Dasi, an advocate for undergraduate students who has served on the college-level retention committee to understand issues related to underperforming undergraduates, developing recommendations for improving retention rates. He is also head of Coulter BME’s undergraduate student committee which evaluates courses and degree requirements for the department.

“Our department has pioneered in undergraduate biomedical engineering education in that it engineered itself into existence as a highly innovative program with the goal of developing thinkers and leaders in biomedical engineering,” says Dasi, a problem-based learning facilitator for almost 15 years. “I was captivated by the authentic and highly effective approach of learning through problems.”

As the largest BME department in the country, the Coulter Department has more than 1,200 undergraduate students (60% are female and 22% are unrepresented minorities). “In the Coulter Department, we have created an award winning undergraduate program and I’m excited to welcome Prasad Dasi’s leadership for our students,” said BME Chair Susan Margulies.

Dasi says he plans to work with the BME leadership team to expand the department’s innovative spirit, adding, “I look forward to facilitating the expansion of our foot print through new programs, including developing an NSF funded REU center with the focus of instilling translation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization in diverse students. While the challenges ahead are uncertain, with the current pandemic situation, I am confident in our collective spirit as one BME across two campuses to come out stronger as we continue to innovate and lead.”