Photo Credits: Maryland Today
The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of Maryland, College Park held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 8, 2026 for the Edward and Jennifer St. John Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine (CTEM), a new space on the fourth floor of 4MLK in the University of Maryland BioPark built to pair engineers with physicians on biomedical research. UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell said: “What’s so remarkable is that the people in this center can solve problems that neither of us can solve as individual programs.”
Engineering Solutions Down the Hall from the Clinic
CTEM is designed to move biomedical research from the lab bench toward clinical application by putting Clark School of Engineering researchers and University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) physicians in the same building, working on cancer, macular degeneration, glaucoma, vascular disease, and technologies including AI and biomedical imaging. Huang-Chiao “Joe” Huang, Associate Professor of Bioengineering and Fischell Family Distinguished Professor, is developing photodynamic therapy drugs for cancer that remain largely inactive until exposed to a specific color of light, and pointed to the proximity itself as the advantage: “Our ability to walk into the operating room, observe how our collaborators perform surgery, and have real-time discussions about clinical challenges has been incredibly valuable.” The center’s co-directors, Giuliano Scarcelli, Professor and Fischell Institute Fellow in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering, and Osamah Saeedi, Professor of Ophthalmology and Glaucoma Division Chief at UMSOM, are using advanced imaging technology to study eye biomechanics for glaucoma diagnosis and risk assessment, along with imaging approaches aimed at macular degeneration. UMSOM Dean Mark Gladwin described that partnership specifically: “Dr. Saeedi and Dr. Scarcelli have an extraordinary research partnership where they are using the most advanced technology to image the biomechanics of the eye.”
Built on a $10 Million Gift and a State Partnership Grant
CTEM, first announced in 2025 and formally dedicated at this ceremony, was funded by a $10 million gift from Edward ’61 and Jennifer St. John and the Edward St. John Foundation, along with a $12.75 million grant through the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State. UMCP President Darryll J. Pines framed the center as a model for how the two campuses work together: “As both of our institutions continue to leverage our expertise, knowledge and creativity to take on the grand challenges of our time, partnerships such as this will be incredibly critical to that success.” Clark School Dean Samuel Graham tied the center’s purpose to patients directly: “This is a vision to develop and accelerate breakthroughs that are needed by our patients today.”
