Announcements

A Biomedical Engineering Initiative in Undergraduate Education In keeping with Rensselaer’s tradition of excellence in education and School of Engineering’s emerging focus on Human Health and livability, we are launching a number of initiatives to foster enterprising research and innovative undergraduate education in biomedical engineering. One such initiative is our new Undergraduate Seminar Series in Global Health emphasizing the importance of research in creating and passing on new knowledge to students.

An IPRPI Workshop on Diffuse Optical Imaging, being organized by Drs.

After completing his PhD degree in Biomedical Engineering, and his post-doctoral research in the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue at Columbia University, Dr. Leo Wan joins the Biomedical Engineering department faculty. Dr. Wan’s research focuses on Cell Chirality, BioMEMS, Stem Cell Mechano-Biology, Functional Tissue Engineering, Cartilage Biomechanics and Bioimaging.

Tuesday, October 4 5:30 pm in the Biotech Auditorium, William Edelman '78 will speak to the undergraduates. Bill Edelman, is a medical device industry executive with over 33 years of experience and currently serves as Chairman of the Board at Leviticus Cardio, Ltd. He has served as Co-Chairman for ETView, Ltd., (TASE: ETVW) (airway management), Chairman of the Board for PolyTouch, Ltd. (general surgical instrumentation), Medivalve, Ltd., (percutaneous aortic valve placement) and Cardioflow, Ltd., (embolic protection). Mr.

The second Undergraduate Seminar Series in Global Health was held Tuesday, April 3, 2012 in Academy Hall. We were happy to welcome Dr. Eric Ledet of the BME Department, who presented a talk titled, "A Tale of Two Systems: Immersion in South African Health Care." Adequate healthcare remains a significant challenge in developing nations. State-of-the-art technology and equipment are often unsustainable. Accessibility of facilities is often prohibitive due to limited infrastructure.

Dr. Deanna Thompson has been promoted to Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.She joined Rensselaer in September of 2004 as an Assistant Professor within the Department. Her continued work for both teaching and research have been recognized by the Institute and the science community, with awards including the 2010 Research Excellence Award from the School of Engineering and the NYSTAR Biotechnology Research Award.

Atharva Poundarik, a graduate student in Dr. Vashishth's lab, has been selected to receive a 2011 ASBMR (American Society for Bone and Mineral Research) Young Investigator Award for his abstract presentation titled "Non-collageneous Proteins Influence Bone Mineral Size, Shape and Orientation: A SAXS Study." As part of the award, Atharva will receive an honorarium and a plaque commemorating this award at the annual ASBMR meeting this September in San Diego.

“Micropatterned mammalian cells exhibit phenotype-specific left-right asymmetry” by Leo Q Wan, Kacey Ronaldson, Miri Park, Grace Taylora, Yue Zhang, Jeffrey M Gimbleb, and Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic. http://www.pnas.org/content/108/30/12295 Left-right (LR) asymmetry (handedness, chirality) is a well-conserved biological property of critical importance to normal development. Changes in orientation of the LR axis due to genetic or environmental factors can lead to malformations and disease.