Jenna Rickus

Dr. Jenna Rickus is the Senior Vice Provost and a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona, reporting directly to Provost Prelock. Dr. Rickus facilitates collaboration and coordination among Academic Affairs, Campus Community Connections, Faculty Affairs, University Analytics and Institutional Research (UAIR), and the University Center for Assessment, Teaching, and Technology (UCATT). She also oversees initiatives and alignment across these areas. Prior to this appointment, she served as the Senior Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning at Purdue University.

Dr. Rickus is a bioengineer, interdisciplinary scholar, and inventor with expertise in biofunctional materials and biosensors.  She earned B.S. degrees in biochemistry and agricultural engineering from Purdue University and worked as an engineer in the food industry before earning a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and NeuroEngineering from UCLA.
Her research has focused on engineered biomaterials for the sensing and actuation of living cells and tissues with a particular emphasis on the brain and pancreas. Materials from her lab have wide reaching applications in cell physiology, implantable devices, and cell-based therapeutics. With funding from NIH, NSF, USDA, NASA, the Army Research Office and DARPA, her research team developed new technologies for important problems in brain cancer, epilepsy, type 1 diabetes, foodborne illness, and space biology. 

Dr. Rickus has been PI or co-PI on more than $100M in externally funded grants to support work across all mission areas of research, teaching, and community engagement. She has invested significantly in building, growing and strengthening academic programs, including the establishment of biological engineering and biomedical engineering as degree granting disciplines early in her career.  As a university leader she has made important contributions to innovations in teaching, student success, and transformative education. Dr. Rickus has won numerous awards for her work including the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Outstanding Teacher in Biomedical Engineering, the Mortar Board National College Honor Society Alumni Achievement Award, and the National Academic Advising Association Michael C. Holen Pacesetter Award.

Admin: Jonathan Lazar
Administrative Associate
Phone: 520-621-1856
Email: jmlazar@arizona.edu