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Aileen Huang-Saad

Director of Life Sciences, Health, & Engineering; Associate Professor of Bioengineering

Aileen Huang-Saad is the director of life sciences, health, and engineering programs at the Roux Institute and an associate professor of bioengineering. Leveraging her experience with design, entrepreneurship, education research, and professional practice, she seeks to close the gap between higher education and professional practice. Specifically, she is designing interdisciplinary experiential education life sciences, health, and engineering programs to attract, retain, and promote talent in the state of Maine. These programs are designed to re-imagine how higher education and communities can work together to impact economic and talent development.

Huang-Saad has an over 14 year history of bringing about organizational change in higher education, leveraging evidence-based practices at University of Michigan. She created the U-M BME graduate design program, co-founded the U-M College of Engineering Center for Entrepreneurship, launched the U-M National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps Node, and developed the U-M BME Instructional Incubator. She is a canonical instructor for both the NSF and National Institute of Health (NIH) I-Corps Programs. Huang-Saad has received numerous awards for her teaching and student advising, including the 1938E College of Engineering Award, the Thomas M. Sawyer, Jr. Teaching Award, the U-M ASEE Outstanding Professor Award, the International Teaching with Sakai Innovation Award, and the College of Engineering Outstanding Student Advisor Award. She currently serves as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Springer’s Biomedical Engineering Education and is a member of the Maine State Workforce Board and the National Academies’ Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education. Huang-Saad is also an American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow.

Prior to entering higher education, Huang-Saad worked in industry gaining experience in new venture biotech, the defense industry, and medical device testing. She has a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, a Doctor of Philosophy from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and a Master of Business Administration from University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Huang-Saad is the proud mom of two sons and is a fitness data fanatic. She and her husband enjoy long walks, hikes, and bike rides around Maine.

Research Overview

Huang-Saad’s current research areas are entrepreneurship, innovation, and transforming higher education.  She has been funded by the NSF to explore the influence of the microenvironment of entrepreneurship education on minoritized populations, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and fostering graduate student professional development.  

Areas of Expertise

  • Engineering Education Practice and Pedagogy
  • Entrepreneurship and Innovation Education
  • Biomedical/Bioengineering

Publications

  • Huang-Saad A, Fay J, Sheridan L. Closing the divide: accelerating technology commercialization by catalyzing the university entrepreneurial ecosystem with I-CorpsTM. J Technol Transf [Internet]. 2016;42(6):1–21. Available from: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10961-016-9531-2
  • Huang-Saad A, Morton CS, Libarkin JC. Entrepreneurship in Higher Education: A Research Review for Engineering Education Researchers. J Eng Educ. 2018;107(2):263–90. 
  • Gruber M, Huang-Saad A, Liguori E, Reid J, Terjesen S. What I’ve learned about teaching entrepreneurship: perspectives of five master educators. In: Annals of Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy–2023. Edward Elgar Publishing; 2022. p. 2–29. 
  • Huang-Saad A, Stegemann J, Shea L. Developing a Model for Integrating Professional Practice and Evidence-Based Teaching Practices into BME Curriculum. Ann Biomed Eng. 2020;48(2):881–92. 
  • Huang-Saad A, Bodnar C, Carberry A. Examining current practice in engineering entrepreneurship education. Vol. 3, Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy. SAGE Publications Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA; 2020. p. 4–13.
  • Read more on Google Scholar

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