Announcements

Dr. Pingkun Yan has joined the biomedical engineering department as an Assistant Professor. Pingkun received his BS degree in Electronics Engineering and Information Science from University of Science and Technology of China (2001) and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from National University of Singapore (2006). Before joining the department, he has been working as a Senior Scientist at Philips Research North America since 2013.

The Graduation reception is held at the atrium in CBIS on May 19, 2017 to celebrate the achievements of the students graduating this year. A total of 108 students are graduating with a BS, 11 with a Masters, and 6 PhDs are awarded. The number of students receiving a BS degree is at a record value, reflecting the popularity of the program. In addition to honoring the graduating students, several awards are given: The Paul B. Daitch Memorial Award: Michael Wassick The Zelda & David G.

Kuwabo Mubyana, a graduate student in the BME department working in Dr. David Corr's group, won the Best Student Paper Award at the 2017 International Symposium on Ligaments & Tendons - XVI in San Diego, CA, March 18, 2017. She was the sole winner based on her podium presentation of her abstract: "Influence of Quasi-Static and Dynamic Cyclic Mechanical Loading on Collagen I Deposition and Tensile/Failure Properties of Engineered Tendon Fibers" by Mubyana K, Chamberlain CS, and Corr DT

Dr. Ryan Gilbert has been selected as the recipient of the 2017 School of Engineering Classroom Excellence Award. The SoE awardees will be celebrated at the Faculty Achievement Recognition Dinner on 04/27/2017.

A recent article on identifying biomarkers for Autism Spectrum Disorder by Juergen Hahn's group made the cover of PLOS Computational Biology. The article can be found by following the link below: Howsmon DP, Kruger U, Melnyk S, James SJ, Hahn J (2017) Classification and adaptive behavior prediction of children with autism spectrum disorder based upon multivariate data analysis of markers of oxidative stress and DNA methylation. PLoS Comput Biol 13(3): e1005385.

John Drazan and Amy Loya were on a team that took the first prize in the MIT-Sloan Sports Analytics Research Paper Competition. They wrote a paper on how to use sports analytics to coach youth in order to engage them in the STEM pipeline. The prize was 10,000 dollars and a trip to the NBA summer league to present the work again to the entire NBA. There were over 200 submissions from established sports analytics groups.

Dr. Leo Wan's work on chirality is highlighted in a recent article in the magazine WIRED. The full article can be found here: https://www.wired.com/2017/02/body-can-tell-left-right/ Leo is a pioneer in studying the left-right asymmetry at a cellular level with microfabricated engineering systems. His research focuses on developing engineering platforms for embryonic development and regeneration medicine. His research has received much attention from developmental biologists in the field of left-right asymmetry.

Five faculty members of the Biomedical Engineering Department were honored at the 2016 Trustee Celebration.