Researchers have identified a key component in cigarette smoke that worsens pain in people with spinal cord injury, suggesting that a critical element within tobacco is responsible for such pain-inducing effects.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has appointed Daniel Romary, a Purdue Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering senior, as a member of the Purdue Board of Trustees. Romary, of New Haven, Indiana, was appointed to serve a two-year term as the board's student trustee.

A Purdue-affiliated startup, Bionode LLC, is developing a wearable neuro-modulation device that could be used as a non-invasive, personalized therapy to treat and prevent elevated intra-ocular pressure in patients diagnosed with glaucoma.

A new technique being developed at Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering could provide patients who require implantable catheters in the treatment of neurological and other disorders with a reliable and self-clearing catheter that could eliminate the need for additional surgery to replace failing devices.

A Purdue-based startup is developing a disruptive nanotherapeutic platform that could induce conversion of bad fat to good fat in an effort to provide a safe and effective way to treat obesity and diabetes.

Faculty and graduate students from Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and the College of Veterinary Medicine will be at the West Lafayette Farmer's Market this summer to showcase how science and engineering are used by scientists, engineers, and clinicians at Purdue to advance science and medicine for human and animal health.

Stephen L. Ferguson, Chairman of the Board of Cook Group, received the Honorary Boilermaker Award and Carl A. Cook, CEO of Cook Group, received the Extraordinary Boilermaker Award at the French Lick Springs Hotel in French Lick, IN on May 10. George R. Wodicka, Dane A. Miller Head of Biomedical Engineering, presented the awards on behalf of Purdue President Mitch Daniels during the Purdue Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering faculty and staff retreat.

Alumnus Aaron Kyle (PhD 2007) has received Columbia University's Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching. Kyle is a senior lecturer in Columbia's Department of Biomedical Engineering. A top honor presented to only five recipients each year, the presidential awards "recognize teaching excellence at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and, in particular, honor faculty who have had a lasting influence on the intellectual development of students."