Dr. Alex Otten began teaching as a faculty member at USF in Fall of 2023. While he may have a new title, he is no stranger to teaching at USF. In fact, he has been a part of the USF herd since 2006 when he started his Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering. During his candidacy he taught courses for both the medical and electrical engineering departments. Throughout this period, he has had the opportunity to teach many engineering students and a variety of classes. As a result, he was awarded 1st place for Faculty Member of the Year by the USF Biomedical Engineering Society Student Chapter for 2024-2025.
His background is in electrical engineering which he uses to assist in research projects in the department of medical engineering with Drs. Richard Heller, Mark Jaroszeski, and Anna Bulysheva. Their research incorporates electroporation – the process by which short, high-voltage impulses are applied to cell membranes to allow for molecular delivery of potentially therapeutic agents. For example, Electroporation has uses for the treatment of cancer as it allows chemotherapeutic drugs to pass directly into the cell. His expertise in electrical engineering makes him an asset when it comes to improving the circuitry and hardware of the devices involved. Dr. Otten’s publications involve breakthroughs regarding advances in device design and how the use of pulsed electric fields can promote a biological response in cells in vivo or in vitro.
One thing that is clear is Dr. Otten’s passion for educating and informing students.
One event that is hosted at USF is a summer camp for 9th through 12th grade students.
They are invited to come to the DFX lab on campus where they can interact and learn
about biomedical engineering. One of his happiest teaching moments is when students
who attended the camp and enrolled at USF cited him as the direct result of their
pursuit of biomedical engineering. His goal is to inform students as much as possible
when it comes to engineering. He says most students know about mechanical, aeronautical
and electrical engineering but fail to realize there are many other branches such
as BME. He mentioned that if a student makes an informed decision about which field
of engineering to pursue, then he has done his job.
Previous USF Biomedical Engineering Society Chapter BME Professor of the Year Winners:
2024 - Dr. Souheil Zekri; 2023 - Dr. Albert Kim; 2022 - Dr. Souheil Zekri; 2021
- Dr. Olukemi Akintewe