Weldon Graduate Students Shine
Three BME Graduate Students Receive NSF Fellowships
Out of 19 NSF graduate research fellowships awarded to Purdue this year, three have come to BME students.
Jamie Brugnano, Serena Pearce and Scott Van Dyke have all been notified that they will receive three years of support for graduate study so they can focus on research related to their degrees. Brugnano works with Professor Brandon Seal, Pearce does research with Professor Corey Neu, and Van Dyke is working in Professor Ozan Akkus' laboratory.
The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship is the country's oldest graduate fellowship program that directly supports graduate students in various STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields who are pursuing research-based graduate degrees. This year, approximately 1,200 fellowships were awarded in the United States.
Victoria Poole Selected for Carver Fellowship
Victoria Poole, a graduate student in Biomedical Engineering, has been selected to receive a George Washington Carver Fellowship.
The George Washington Carver (GWC) Doctoral Fellowship is awarded annually to encourage students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, or Tribal colleges, who have demonstrated superior academic achievements and abilities, to attend Purdue University. Recipients of this fellowship are doctoral-seeking students who aspire to a career as a professor/researcher in higher education. Purdue University President Emeritus Martin C. Jischke initiated the George Washington Carver Fellowship in honor of this great African-American educator, researcher, and innovator.
Catherine Whittington Selected for Fearnot Award
Catherine Whittington, a biomedical engineering student studying with Professor Sherry Voytik-Harbin, has been selected as the recipient of the Fearnot Prize for 2009.
Dr. Neal Fearnot, currently of Med Institute, established this award because he felt that the experience he gained as a student presenter at the BME summer seminar series was extremely valuable. The award is presented to the graduate student whose presentation receives the highest evaluation from the faculty, students and staff attending the seminars.
Whittington's presentation was based on her current doctoral research on matrix-induced in vitro vasculogenesis by endothelial colony forming cells.
Three BME Students Selected to Receive Bourland Travel Awards
Three Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering students were selected to receive this fall's Joe Bourland Travel Awards
The purpose of the Joe Bourland Graduate Student Travel Award is to provide travel support to graduate students in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering to conferences as part of their graduate studies. Dr. Joe Bourland was one of the "Fab 4" to come from Baylor University (along with Dr. Geddes, Dr. Tacker, and Dr. Babbs) in 1974 to begin the Hillenbrand Biomedical Engineering Center that eventually became the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.
Emily Gullotti traveled to the Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium 2009, held in Indianapolis, IN from October 5-6, 2009. She is working with Professor Yoon Yeo. Henry Chen attended the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Fall meeting in Pittsburgh, PA, October 7-10, 2009. He works with Professors Ghassan Kassab at IUPUI and Eric Nauman at Purdue. The third recipient, Cal Rabang, attended the Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, October 16-21, 2009, and is currently studying under Professor Ed Bartlett.
Four BME Graduate Students Selected for Dollens Scholarship
The scholarships were established by the Guidant Foundation in 2003 to honor Ronald Dollens, who graduated with a degree in pharmacy from Purdue. The scholarship is intended to serve as a catalyst for the combination of pharmaceutical and biomedical engineering research expertise at Purdue; facilitate the increased understanding of cardiovascular disease; and enable the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies.
Mr. Dollens continues to serve society by influencing health policies that affect our nation. He spends much time in Washington, D.C., working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
McMasters came to Purdue after working at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center. He earned his BS from Case Western Reserve University in 2006, and is currently working with Professor Alyssa Panitch.
Odoemene earned his BS from George Washington University in 2009, just prior to joining Professor Marshall Porterfield's research group at Purdue.
Shi is working with advisor Professor Ji-Xin Cheng, and Zhao is working with co-advisors Professors Dong Xie and Gudrun Schmidt.
Jason Toler Receives Chappelle Fellowship
The Charles C. Chappelle Fellowship provides a one-year fellowship to students with undergraduate degrees from Purdue for the furtherance of post-graduate research at Purdue University. Chappelle Fellows are selected on the basis of character, intellectual ability, and promise of degree attainment.