Joe Tien is an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University’s College of Engineering, where he joined as an assistant professor in 2002 and was promoted to his tenured position in 2008. He also holds an affiliated faculty appointment in the Division of Materials Science and Engineering since 2008 and is a member of the university’s Program in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry since 2003. Tien received his PhD in physics from Harvard University in 1999, an AM in physics from the same institution in 1995, and bachelor’s degrees in physics and mathematics, summa cum laude, from the University of California, Irvine, in 1993. From 1999 to 2001, he conducted postdoctoral research in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

The Tien Group specializes in inventing perfusable, microfluidic biomaterials that replicate native vascular networks to overcome challenges in tissue engineering, such as nourishing large tissue volumes with functional microvessels. Their work encompasses synthesizing vascularized biomaterials, developing algorithms for scaffold design based on vascularization principles, creating vascularized microphysiological systems to study vessel-tissue interactions in cancer and obesity, engineering human lymphatic vessel models, and exploring vascularization mechanics. Key publications include “Formation of Perfused, Functional Microvascular Tubes In Vitro” (Microvascular Research, 2006), “Microfluidic Biomaterials” (Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2021), “Tissue Engineering of the Microvasculature” (Comprehensive Physiology, 2019), and “Obesity-Associated Conditions Hinder Solute Drainage Function of Engineered Human Lymphatic Vessels” (Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, 2025). Tien has been honored with the Boston University College of Engineering Award for Teaching Excellence (2018) and Outstanding Professor of the Year (2013), the NIH/NIBIB Edward C. Nagy New Investigator Award (2006), and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (1993–1996). His contributions have significantly influenced the field by enabling scalable vascularized tissues for regenerative medicine and precise in vitro models of diseases.

Professional Email: jtien@bu.edu