{"id":893,"date":"2024-04-24T18:33:41","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T21:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ingenieriabiologicaymedica.uc.cl\/the-institute\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T16:25:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:25:48","slug":"the-institute","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ingenieriabiologicaymedica.uc.cl\/en\/the-institute\/","title":{"rendered":"The Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Welcome from the Director<\/h3>\n
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Welcome to the Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering (IIBM).<\/p>\n

Founded as the first interdisciplinary academic unit of the UC, the IIBM was born with a clear conviction: that the most urgent challenges in health and environmental sustainability can only be addressed at the intersection of engineering, medicine and life sciences. Since its inception, the Institute has played a pioneering role in the development of biological and biomedical engineering in Chile. <\/p>\n

Our vision is to transform lives through interdisciplinary biomedical engineering and biotechnology. We seek to build a dynamic ecosystem of research and training, where engineers, scientists and clinicians work in an integrated way to generate solutions. <\/p>\n

innovative and high impact for Chile and the world. We are guided by a strong commitment to excellence, collaboration, innovation and ethical practice in all our activities. <\/p>\n

At the IIBM we believe in breaking down traditional barriers between disciplines, accelerating the transfer from scientific discovery to real applications, and training the next generation of bioengineering leaders. Our strength lies not only in scientific rigor, but also in our ability to work as an integrated community, with a shared purpose: to generate knowledge that improves the quality of life. <\/p>\n

Whether you join as students, researchers, collaborators or strategic partners, I cordially invite you to be part of this dynamic and forward-looking community. Together we will continue to push the frontiers of biomedical innovation and make a lasting impact on society. <\/p>\n

Ren\u00e9 Botnar<\/strong>
Director
Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering (IIBM)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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History IIBM<\/h3>\r\n
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The Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering (IIBM) was formally approved by the Honorable Superior Council (HCS) of the Pontificia Universidad Cat\u00f3lica de Chile on January 26, 2016, becoming the first interdisciplinary academic unit created at UC. This milestone represented the culmination of a sustained process of reflection, planning and academic collaboration initiated several years earlier. <\/p>\n

The origins of the Institute date back to 2009, with the creation of the Biomedical Engineering Group, an informal but highly active collective of academics from different faculties, committed to the development of biomedical engineering through an interdisciplinary approach. Recognizing the strategic importance and long-term potential of this initiative, in 2013 the Rector and the Deans of the Faculties of Engineering, Medicine and Biological Sciences agreed to establish a formal institutional framework to ensure its continuity and projection. This gave rise to the Biomedical Engineering and Biotechnology Initiative, which provided a structured platform for joint research, academic training and clinical transfer. <\/p>\n

At the end of 2014, the university authorities resolved to constitute the Institute as a permanent Academic Unit, with joint governance of the three faculties, adopting its current name: Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering (IIBM). This decision reflected an explicit institutional commitment to interdisciplinary research, innovation in health and effective integration between engineering and medicine. <\/p>\n

During its founding years, the Institute was led by its inaugural Director, Professor Pablo Irarr\u00e1zaval (2013-2022), who played a central role in defining the scientific vision, academic foundations and interdisciplinary culture of the IIBM. In 2022, Professor Ren\u00e9 Botnar took over as the first elected Director under the formal governance structure of the Institute. Since then, he has driven the strengthening of research excellence, the consolidation of the interdisciplinary model, the national and international positioning of the Institute, the obtaining of competitive funding and the acceleration of knowledge transfer towards high impact clinical and technological applications. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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About us<\/h2>\r\n
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The Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering (IIBM) is an interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to addressing some of the most pressing challenges in health and the environment. Our mission is to generate high-impact scientific knowledge while training the next generation of world-class bioengineering scientists, engineers and innovators.
The IIBM operates at the intersection of engineering, medicine and life sciences, fostering a collaborative ecosystem that integrates researchers, clinicians and industrial partners. Through the convergence of fundamental science, advanced engineering and clinical expertise, we seek to accelerate the transfer of knowledge into clinical solutions, medical technologies and innovations with positive environmental impact.
A distinctive feature of the IIBM is its strong focus on impactful, translational research. We place special emphasis on rapidly converting our scientific advances into applicable technologies, products and practices that contribute to improving human health and protecting the environment. <\/p>\n

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Our strategic objectives<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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