What if a drug you need every single day of your life could be implanted into your body so that you don’t have to remember to take a pill?

Students and researchers at the Purdue College of Engineering and Indiana University School of Medicine now have more opportunities to enrich their studies and develop life-saving medical devices thanks to a host of new initiatives underway through the Engineering—Medicine Partnership, an overarching educational and research alliance between the two institutions.

The opioid epidemic gripping the US is grim by any measure. According to the CDC, 130 Americans on average die every day from an opioid overdose. From 1999 to 2018, nearly 500,000 people died from opioid overdose. That’s equivalent to the population of Atlanta, extinguished in the span of 19 years.

The Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering is recognized for educating industry-ready engineers and translating numerous life-saving medical devices into the clinic. For more than 40 years, biomedical engineers at Purdue have developed implantable cardiovascular devices, replacement tissues, drug delivery systems, and minimally-invasive monitoring systems that have met with significant commercial success via our company partners.

Although Chi Hwan Lee works with flexible electronics technologies at the cellular and tissue scales, the collaborations he marshals to help advance and translate his innovative technologies operate on an international scale. The assistant professor of biomedical and mechanical engineering at Purdue University is a master collaborator. His partnerships span the globe, from South Korea, across the US, to the faculty member next door. He finds partners in industry, clinics, academia, the governments of two countries, and, serendipitously, while standing in line at Starbucks.

Neal Fearnot, president of MED Institute Incorporated and Cook Advanced Technologies, and Vice President of Cook Group Incorporated, delivered his best advice for graduate students in a special presentation of the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering Summer Seminar Series.

Leslie Bottorff has been named a Purdue 2019 Old Master. The Old Masters program brings Purdue alumni back to campus each fall to celebrate their professional successes and inspire current students. While on campus this November, Bottorff participated in classroom talks, met with several student organizations, including a group of Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering graduate students, and a community-wide panel discussion.

Purdue University researchers have received a $511,946 grant from the Indiana State Department of Health to perform an MRI longitudinal pilot study of Hoosier veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who are participating in an experimental treatment.

The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (Indiana CTSI) Retreat will take place on Jan. 31 at Purdue’s Martin C. Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering.

Eight Innovation for Clinical Translation (ICT) Fellows have been named for 2019-2020. The ICT Fellowship program is a key component of the expanding partnership between the Purdue College of Engineering and Indiana University School of Medicine. Doctoral engineering students are able to translate their work with innovative technologies from the lab to clinical practice.