Leo Chen Practice Point

New PracticePoint and BETC Director to Keep WPI at Center of Innovation in Healthcare Technology

Experienced researcher will strengthen industry/university partnerships
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January 29, 2025
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Matt Burgos

Liaohai “Leo” Chen, a research scientist who oversaw a $20 million surgical robotics training facility while at the University of Illinois Chicago, has joined WPI as director of both PracticePoint, the university’s healthcare technology research and development facility, and the Biomanufacturing Education and Training Center, or BETC, at Gateway Park. 

“Dr. Chen’s extensive experience in surgical robotics and visionary approach to healthcare technology make him an invaluable addition to WPI,” said Bogdan Vernescu, vice president and vice provost for research and innovation at WPI. “We look forward to the advancements and collaborations that will undoubtedly flourish under his guidance.”

Chen said WPI is uniquely poised to leverage the technology and programs available at PracticePoint and the BETC to expand the university’s industry partnerships while promoting faculty research and workforce development. 

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Practice Point Room

PracticePoint provides external researchers with access to advanced resources for design, prototyping, and evaluation of health technology and surgical innovations. The Gateway Park facility, opened in 2020, includes a fully functioning operating room and intensive care unit, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suite, and a fully instrumented living environment. It also features advanced manufacturing capabilities, including 3D printing, CNC machining, and electronics assembly. 

“The use of robotics in the medical field is booming,” Chen said. “Facilities like PracticePoint provide a test bed for new medical device training and technologies and connect our students and faculty with both startup companies and industry leaders.” 

Facilities like PracticePoint provide a test bed for new medical device training and technologies and connect our students and faculty with both startup companies and industry leaders.
  • Liaohai "Leo" Chen
  • Director, PracticePoint and the BETC
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BETC Lab

Designed to create customized workforce development solutions for biotechnology companies, the BETC offers hands-on training that ranges from one-day sessions to longer courses. The 10,000 square-foot, pilot-scale lab facility has delivered customized training programs for companies including AdvantaPure and Biogen-Idec Laboratories; companies like AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb have collaborated with the BETC to develop course curricula and educational materials. 

Chen said his experience as director of UIC’s Surgical Innovation and Training Laboratory, a facility that provides hands-on training for surgical disciplines, makes his new role at WPI a good fit. He said he hopes to leverage WPI’s central location near regional medical centers to forge new partnerships. He said facilities like PracticePoint are incubating innovations right now that are improving and saving lives. 

Prior to joining UIC, Chen was a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Utah State University, and was a research scientist and molecular biologist at both Argonne National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. In addition to directing PracticePoint and the BETC, Chen has also joined the WPI faculty as a research professor in Robotics Engineering and will focus on molecule imaging, surgical navigation/automation, and telesurgery.