Dr. Cheng, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chemistry,  joined the Purdue faculty in 2003. Cheng has built a multidisciplinary and collaborative research program that spans the areas of membrane and cell biophysics, biomedical imaging, and development of new microscopy tools. Cheng and his group develop state-of-the-art imaging tools and nanotechnology to tackle compelling problems highly related to human health.

Dr. Neu, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, joined the Purdue faculty in 2008. He is also an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. His research studies mechanical aspects of tissues, particularly how mechanical force influences gene expression, e.g., the characterization of mechanical signals (e.g. stress and strain) in tissues and cells, and the biological regulation of mechanical signals (i.e. mechanobiology) at the cellular level.

The Entrepreneurial Leadership Academy is supported through a grant to the Burton D. Morgan Center from the Kauffman Foundation. Each faculty member will receive seed funding for a project. The project will then be developed through identification of issues, challenges and feasible outcomes. This is a unique opportunity for the participating faculty, and an honor to be selected.