Leaders of Indiana and Purdue universities Thursday announced the creation of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), a medical research initiative supported by a $25 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will combine the strengths of the universities, business and government to swiftly transform discoveries into better patient care and business opportunities.

"The Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering is a key, unique component of the Institute," notes Dr. George Wodicka, head of the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue. "Our expertise in medical device design, prototyping, and development, including bionanotechnology approaches, combined with our proven track record in bringing effective products to market will be invaluable to the Institute."

New graduates and faculty from Purdue University’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering recently visited Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to present “Weldon Wagons” to Parkview’s Pediatric Department.

Steven Lee, who recently graduated from the Weldon undergraduate program and is now entering Weldon's M.D./Ph.D. program, has been profiled by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Please check out this excellent interview.

Klod Kokini, Associate Dean of Engineering for Academic Affairs and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, has been named the winner of the ASME Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. Medal. The medal recognizes outstanding contribution by an individual, company, government entity, school, or other organization toward developing and implementing practices, processes and programs that value and strategically manage diversity and inclusiveness.

Patrick Schexnailder, Mary-Margaret Seale, and Mike Zordan have been selected as the recipients of the Joe Bourland Graduate Student Travel Award for Spring 2008.

Representatives of three companies launched from research developed at Purdue will travel to California's Silicon Valley to meet with venture capital firms on May 13th and 14th. The three companies were selected from a competition held on campus last October during a Fund Raising Boot Camp.

A company proposed by Shane Fimbel won a $25,000 top prize in the Incubicity business plan competition held recently in Monticello, Indiana.

Five BME graduate students were selected to receive this year's Magoon Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Brian C. Ward, an MD/PhD candidate working with Professor Alyssa Panitch, was awarded this year's Geddes-Laufman-Greatbatch Award.

Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a possible new pathway for anti-tumor drugs to kill cancer cells and proposed how to improve the design of tiny drug-delivery particles for use in "nanomedicine."