Jennifer Kang-Mieler Appointed Director of the Semcer Center for Healthcare Innovation
The moment it dawned on Jennifer Kang-Mieler that her career might have a lab-based research element was during her time as an undergraduate mathematics student at Northwestern University, when she got an opportunity to work in a biophysics lab modeling protein crystals.
Fast-forward to today, Kang-Mieler, Chair and George Meade Bond Professor of the Stevens Department of Biomedical Engineering, and the newly appointed director of the Semcer Center for Healthcare Innovation (CHI), continues to love lab work and is excited to expand the center’s lab research capabilities and educational initiatives.
“I see this role as a natural extension of my work with the talented and motivated faculty and students in the Stevens biomedical engineering department,” Kang-Mieler said, adding that she views CHI as a platform to work with “smart people doing high-quality research.”
Kang-Mieler, a nationally and internationally recognized leader in ophthalmology and vision science, aims to promote a shared vision across CHI while attracting new collaborators, especially in industry and clinical settings, seeing CHI as an opportunity to bring diverse expertise together to improve lives, especially for patients facing chronic illnesses.
With interdisciplinary research at its core, CHI’s work can produce tangible patient benefits, said Kang-Mieler, helping to position it as a premier collaborative platform bridging academic research with real-world application.
“We want to foster connections with clinicians, nurses, patients and industry professionals, and expand partnerships with local hospitals, NYC-based institutions and pharma/biotech companies, which have a heavy presence in Stevens’ home state of New Jersey,” she said.
Building a unified story around improving patient lives
CHI’s story begins with “identifying real-world problems and building solutions around them,” according to Kang-Mieler. She stresses the importance of a “collaborative approach where members retain their individual expertise but contribute to a shared health challenge.”
For example, a possible unifying theme for CHI might be diabetes. “We can think about diabetes on many levels: from the cellular level to the whole body, from prevention to diagnosis, to improving someone’s daily life. When you look at it that way and consider all the areas of expertise we have, it’s clear that many of us can contribute in meaningful ways,” she explained.
“If CHI researchers combine their talent and expertise to work on a common problem, I think we can move that needle much faster than if we were working individually on different things,” she explained. “If we can all say, ‘Yes, we’re all committed to addressing diabetes’ — and take a multi-faceted approach to the disease — then we can ultimately improve patients’ lives by tackling the problem from every angle.”
A hands-on approach to biomedical research
CHI’s approach to biomedical research represents Stevens’ experiential learning values. For example, biomedical engineering students can gain firsthand experience by joining research groups with faculty and fellow students, and learn how to use cutting-edge technology in a collaborative setting, just like in the real world.
CHI will also host its Next-Gen Healthcare Innovators Symposium 2025 on September 19, 2025, an interdisciplinary Stevens student-run event focused on showcasing research and stimulating creative thinking.
Stevens’ emphasis on hands-on, collaborative learning reflects Kang-Mieler’s own entry into the field. As an undergraduate mathematics major, a lab opportunity sparked her love for lab-based research, and this marked the beginning of her transition to science.
“I excelled in mathematics, rare for women at the time, but the pivotal moment that led me to pursue a career in science came when I met my Ph.D. advisor, a biomedical engineering professor studying vision,” she said.
Using her experience as an example, she advises students, “It’s okay if you don’t know what you want to do. You can start eliminating things you don’t like, and hopefully, at some point, you’ll converge on something that makes you happy. Your career development should be based on something you really enjoy doing.”
With an open invitation to students considering a career in biomedical engineering, and to potential clinical, research and industry collaborators looking to work with CHI, she said: “We’re addressing diseases that affect people everywhere, like diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. These are the kinds of challenges we’re tackling as a team, and when you think about how many people are impacted — not just in the U.S. but globally — it really underscores the importance of what we’re doing.”
From Chicago and Hoboken to global impact
Growing up in Chicago and spending lots of time there, collaborating closely with her husband, a physician and vitreoretinal surgeon, on research projects, Kang-Mieler enjoys the vibrant, walkable nature and food scene of the city with a Midwestern vibe. She also enjoys her time around Hoboken, where Stevens is situated just across the river from New York City, which is where she attends Broadway shows when she can.
When invited to speak at conferences nationally and internationally, she often travels with her husband, experiencing the culture of different places, broadening her perspectives. Beyond her travels, Kang-Mieler values joy and creative hobbies, including playing the ukulele and building Lego® sets. These activities help her achieve balance, which is necessary, as she sees it, to fuel her primary aim as a researcher: to have a meaningful impact on patients’ lives.
“When I work on projects, my focus is on helping the patient see better, need fewer treatments or simply have an easier daily life,” she said. “I think that same goal applies to CHI. Our ultimate aim is to improve healthcare, whether it’s through better delivery or improving the patient’s day-to-day experience.”
