She said the University, which works with partners, including UT Southwestern Medical Center, corporations and other medical providers, aims to develop new biomedical collaborations. Dr. Richard C. Benson, UT Dallas president and Eugene McDermott Distinguished University Chair of Leadership, said at the symposium that the University is fortunate to have a strong partnership with UT Southwestern. UT Dallas bioengineers currently are working with UT Southwestern researchers on 14 different projects funded by $6.9 million in research grants, Prasad said. She added that nearly one-third of bioengineering faculty members have labs at UT Southwestern so they can work more closely with the medical center’s researchers. Annual bioengineering research expenditures at UT Dallas topped $17 million in 2019.