2025 U-M BME Alumni Merit Award Honors Dr. Hubert Lim

Hubert H. Lim (MSE, ‘02, Ph.D. ‘05) is the distinguished recipient of the 2025 BME Alumni Merit Award, recognizing his transformative contributions to neurotechnology, hearing and tinnitus solutions, innovative whole-person health interventions, and leadership in MedTech entrepreneurial translation.

A leading scientist and innovator, Dr. Lim’s journey reflects the interdisciplinary spirit and collaboration that define Michigan BME. Currently Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Otolaryngology at the University of Minnesota, and Director of the Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center, Dr. Lim is internationally known for bridging the boundaries among engineering, medicine, and commercialization.

“There’s no doubt that Michigan was the catalyst for my career,” Dr. Lim said. “The exposure to forefront neurotechnology, the supportive collegial environment, and the breadth of mentorship I received—all of that shaped who I am as a scientist.”

A Path Inspired by Family, Music, and Medicine

Growing up in Southern California, Dr. Lim’s path into biomedical engineering was inspired by a convergence of family influences: a relative’s health challenges, and a mother trained as a pianist, who enjoyed classical music and church hymns–although Dr. Lim himself preferred pop, techno, hip-hop and other genres. “Music intrigued me—not just how we perform or enjoy it, but what happens in the brain, why people have such different preferences,” he said. “That fascination with both health and the mind-body connection led me to bioengineering.”

Dr. Lim completed his undergraduate degree in bioengineering at UC San Diego, then chose Michigan for graduate studies—earning an MSE and then a PhD in biomedical engineering, and an additional master’s in electrical engineering and computer science, during his time in Ann Arbor from 2000-2005.

Building the Future of Hearing Restoration

Though Dr. Lim had begun his time at Michigan contemplating novel ways to track music perception in the brain, the pioneering cochlear implant research at the Kresge Hearing Research Institute ignited a new passion. “It was incredible: you could literally restore hearing in people with profound deafness—enabling many to have intelligible conversations after years of silence,” Lim recalls. “I shifted 1,000% in that direction,” he added, crediting the world-class community at Michigan for being open to new challenges and opportunities.

Yet even as cochlear implant technology revolutionized hearing restoration, Dr. Lim recognized key limitations in electrical stimulation through the bone. “It’s Physics 101: electrical currents spread by the path of least resistance, and getting focused activation through the bone to the auditory nerve on the other side is tough. So I set out to go closer and stimulate the auditory nerve and brain directly,” he says—a pursuit that defined his doctoral, postdoctoral, and early faculty research.

A unique opportunity enabled Dr. Lim to bridge preclinical research at Michigan with pioneering clinical studies in Germany, working alongside experts such as Dr. Thomas Lenarz. “I was fortunate to do animal and technology development at Michigan, then immediately observe and run clinical trials overseas,” Dr. Lim said. This unusual start provided him with first-hand experience in technology translation—a hallmark of his later career.

From Auditory Implants to Innovating Holistic Health

After his postdoctoral work, Dr. Lim joined the University of Minnesota in 2009, attracted by its robust and leading MedTech ecosystem and as the first hire into the Institute for Translational Neuroscience. There, his research split into two major branches: pushing the frontier of auditory prosthetics and developing novel treatments for tinnitus—both through invasive and non-invasive means.

His lab continues to develop implantable auditory prosthetics, such as a novel type of auditory nerve implant that is currently funded by NIH and approaching a first-in-human study after a decade of technology development and preclinical studies. However, on the tinnitus front, Dr. Lim sought to reach beyond surgical implants. “I wanted to make solutions affordable, accessible, and non-invasive for the millions affected,” he notes. Recognizing the brain’s interconnectedness, he pioneered multimodal approaches—stimulating tactile, visual, or other sensory pathways to modulate auditory neurons. “We realized the brain’s auditory circuits can be influenced by many other inputs—offering new hope for people with tinnitus.”

This work led to technology startups and, crucially, devices that today are benefitting patients—a testament to Lim’s commitment to impact and translational research.

But Lim’s curiosity did not stop there. “Tinnitus, for example, is never just a ‘hearing disorder.’ We found that stress, anxiety, sleep, immune function, even the gut microbiome all play a role,” he explains. That insight propelled his lab toward the paradigm of whole-person health: “You can’t treat just one symptom. You have to look at the entire biological and behavioral context.”

Backed by the Department of Defense, DARPA, NIH, and ARPA-H, his group broke new ground discovering that non-invasive ultrasound could directly stimulate cells in the spleen to control inflammation. “It’s amazing. By applying ultrasound externally, we can tell your own immune cells to reset—without drugs or implants. The potential for autoimmune diseases, long COVID, and more is enormous,” Dr. Lim said.

His team’s pioneering work has spawned high-profile papers, ongoing clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions, and new startups translating these discoveries into patient care.

Translating Research, Scaling Impact

Dr. Lim’s career is defined by pursuit of translation: “Michigan gave me an early taste of entrepreneurship. I attended their first programs, filed my first patent, and even took a class in patent law,” he said. “That inspired me to keep pushing for impact beyond publications.” At Minnesota, he now bridges academia and industry as director of the Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center, supporting invention, prototyping, and startup formation across campus and beyond.

He is also a principal leader in the MedTech 3.0 consortium in Minnesota, uniting industry leaders and academic partners to accelerate technology from lab to clinic. “The ‘Valley of Death’ is real for new devices. Our mission is to help researchers and startups navigate those hurdles so that more ideas reach the patients who need them.”

Softer Skills: The Michigan Difference

In addition to technical excellence, Dr. Lim credits Michigan for teaching him the value of collaboration, humility, and open-mindedness–and having fun. “The neurotechnology community there was special—people were humble, supportive, excited to work together. It was never cutthroat,” Dr. Lim noted. “Those relationships, the ability to team up across disciplines, that positive energy—those skills have been just as important to my success.”

He also fondly recalls hands-on learning at the old Kresge Institute by the U-M medical campus—“I was in the OR with clinicians my first year and late night experiments with a diverse group of technical, scientific and clinical colleagues that led to invigorating and creative discussions and ideas,” he said. “That cross-training primed me for a career bridging engineering and medicine.”

And there’s a unique perk about Michigan: “Football. I’m still a fan!” he added with a laugh. “It helped that the house I lived in was right near the football stadium and became the spot where tons of bright minds came to hang out for fun and brainstorm cool ideas.”

A Vision for Preventative, Personalized Health

Today, Dr. Lim is most excited about the potential of holistic health. “If we intervene earlier—by tracking sleep, stress, diet, activity—we can prevent many conditions rather than just treat late-stage disease,” he says. “With approaches like ultrasound stimulation of the spleen and certain types of cells, we let the body reset itself, gently. But we also need to address the root causes—sometimes tiny changes in daily habits make all the difference.”

He has recently integrated music therapy, meditation, and stress reduction into his lab’s treatment protocols, using technology to both monitor and support lifestyle interventions—completing the circle, in a way, to his musical upbringing.

Legacy and Impact

For Dr. Lim, receiving the Alumni Merit Award is personal and profound. “My Michigan experience is close to my heart. I still visit regularly—my wife’s from Michigan—and I remain inspired by the excellence, the camaraderie, and the spirit of impact that shaped me there. It’s a true honor to be recognized by the place that launched my journey.”