BME MONDAY ROUNDTABLE

DECEMBER 6, 2021

 

UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES

FACULTY RECRUITING

Faculty recruiting season is in high swing. Over the next two weeks, we will have four candidates visiting our campus. More to come!

Mon., Dec. 6 – Tues., Dec. 7 – Dr. Sumi Helal, Professor of Computer & Information Science and Engineering, University of Florida (candidate for Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering faculty position). Seminar: “Digital Health: Back to the Future”, 9:30 a.m., Mon., Dec. 6, MJIS 2001

Thurs., Dec. 9 – Fri., Dec. 10 – Dr. Yanmin “Emily” Gong, Assistant Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Texas at San Antonio (candidate for Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering and the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering faculty position). Seminar: “Trustworthy and Distributed Data Analytics for AI-Driven Healthcare”, 9:30 a.m., Thurs., Dec. 9, MJIS 2001

Fri., Dec. 10 – Thesis deposit deadline

Mon., Dec. 13 – Tues., Dec. 14 -  Dr. Anne Draelos, Swartz Foundation Fellow for Theory in Neuroscience, Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University (candidate for Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering tenure-track faculty position). Seminar: 9:30 a.m., Mon., Dec. 13, MJIS 2001

Thurs., Dec. 16 – Fri., Dec. 17 – Dr. Cristina Rodriguez, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Berkeley (candidate for Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering tenure-track faculty position). Seminar: 11:30 a.m., Mon., Dec. 13, via Zoom

Fri., Dec. 17 - Fall 2022 Graduate Student Applications Available to Review on Intranet

Fri., Dec. 17—Pre-screening eligibility list of Purdue Doctoral and George Washington Carver fellowships sent to faculty

 

 

SPRING 2022 BME Faculty Meetings

All faculty meetings will begin at 11:30 a.m. in MJIS 2001

Fri., January 14

Fri., February 11

Fri., March 25

Fri., April 22

 

SPRING 2022 BME Primary Committee Meetings

Fri., March 4, 11:30-1:00, MJIS 2001

Fri., April 15, 10:00-5:00, MJIS 2001 (LONG meeting!)

 

Week of Dec. 6

 

Mon., Dec. 6, 9:30 a.m., MJIS 2001 – Prospective BME/RCHE Faculty Presentation by Dr. Sumi Helal, Professor and Chair in Digital Health, Lancaster University, UK

 

Tues., Dec. 7 – Deadline to sign up for BME Faculty Preview Event (to be held virtually on Jan. 13th). The faculty preview event gives recruiting faculty the opportunity to share their research with applicants prior to you nominating/inviting students to the open house visit (outside of diversity as those deadlines are prior to this event). Our office will create a schedule and will send invites out to those who have completed applications but you are encouraged to personally invite students you are interested in as well. This event will be followed by a virtual social hour if you would like to get to know some of the applicants better. faculty will sign up for one 10 minute presentation slot; only one zoom room will be set up (no breakout rooms) so speakers will enter and exit the same room for your presentation time.

Sign up link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qiY1p5IrtNToQFF8JCO2vjDZ8coLuIOh5fUcFJWbP7E/edit?usp=sharing

Deadline to Sign Up: December 7th

 

Wed., Dec. 8, 9:30 a.m., MJIS 1001 and via Zoom: BME Distinguished Seminar Series. Steven Steinhubl, MD, Associate Professor, Scripps Research. “The Role of Wearable Sensors in Better Understanding Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19.”

 

Wed., Dec. 8, 3:00 p.m., via Zoom: BME PhD Preliminary Exam Announcement for Hui Ma (T. Kinzer-Ursem and J. Linnes, co-advisors). Title: Computational and Experimental Investigation of Microfluidics into Biophysical Interaction.

 

Thurs., Jan. 13, 3:00-5:00 p.m. – BME Faculty Preview Event (Virtual)

 

Upcoming important deadlines and info.

Mon. Dec. 6: QLA major revisions due.

Mon. Dec. 6 – Sat. Dec. 11 – “Dead Week” The final examination period is intended for the end-of-semester examination. No examination or quiz may be given during the week preceding the final examination period of the semester (examinations for laboratory, intensive, or minicourses excluded). It will be the responsibility of the department head or, where appropriate, the school head to ensure that none of the departmental or school faculty use the week preceding the final examination period to administer an examination.

Tues., Dec. 7: Deadline to sign up for speaker slot for faculty preview event; see above

Fri., Dec. 10, 2:00 p.m., MJIS 2001: Biomedical Research Associates Group (BRAG) talk and Q&A with Dr. Douglas Brubaker,  “Passions and Priorities: Academic and Industry Careers in Biomedical Sciences.” 

Mon., Dec. 13 – Sat., Dec. 18: FINAL EXAMS: Final Exam Policy here: https://catalog.purdue.edu/content.php?catoid=9&navoid=10509#final-examinations

Thurs., Dec. 16: Senior Design Expo from 3:30-5:30pm in MJIS.  I would like to encourage all faculty and staff to attend, interact with design teams, and learn about the accomplishments of the seniors this year.  More details to come. 

Fri., Dec. 17: Graduate applications made available for review

Sat. Dec. 18: Deadline for pending Fall 2020 Incomplete Grades to become Failing Grades

Tues., Dec. 21 BEFORE 5:00 p.m. – GRADES DUE. (This includes classes and grades for all graduate and undergraduate research students)

January 2022 – Microsoft Multi-Factor Authentication will be mandatory for all faculty, staff and students on the West Lafayette campus. This will ensure you have continued access to your email plus an added layer of protection from phishing attacks. More details: https://www.itap.purdue.edu/mfa/

Early January - Fall 2022 classes are due to the Registrar in early January.  Faculty, working with their research areas, should submit elective courses (BME 400s, 500s and 600s) prior to Monday, January 10, 2022 (the first day of class).  Please send info to both Cindy (cholderb@purdue.edu) and Tami Kinzer-Ursem (tursem@purdue.edu).

Mon., Jan. 10: 2022 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program: Graduate Assistant/Mentor Position Announcement

The Engineering Undergraduate Research Office (EURO) seeks to hire graduate students from STEM disciplines who enjoy teaching and mentoring undergraduate researchers.  Qualified candidates should have the ability to work in a diverse, fast-paced team environment. This position could be particularly beneficial for the graduate student planning a career in academia.

SURF Graduate Assistants gain unique experience following areas:

•          Mentoring undergraduate researchers in and outside their discipline

•          Program implementation through administrative and leadership experiences at an extensive university research program

Please see attached positions announcement and job description.

Submit your resume and letter of interest by January 10, 2022, via https://www.cco.purdue.edu/Home/myCCO JOB ID: 904126

Wed., Jan. 12: Research area nominations and rankings for diversity fellowships due to grad office

Thurs., Jan. 13: Admissions Faculty Preview Event—virtual

Mon., Jan. 24 by NOON: Research area nominations and ranking for non-traditional and research excellence fellowships due to grad office (hotel rooms need to be released today so I have to have a name tied to a room by 5 pm)

Thurs., Feb. 24 – Sat., Feb. 26: Admissions Open House visit—planning for hybrid (virtual and in-person) event

 

 

Updates from the head

Please attend the faculty candidate seminars this week and provide your feedback!

 

Committee Updates

DEI:

Promoting a culture of support and inclusion for undergraduates:

In an effort to increase the support network and lower the barriers to academic success for all students, the DEI Steering Committee and Academic Programs has out an Undergraduate Resource Center in room MJIS 1097 which is staffed by BME course Teaching Assistants Monday through Wednesday each week from 7-9pm. Support was provided for 7 different BME courses as well as BIOL 230 this last semester with 200 students seeking support from the center. The undergraduate resource center will be open during Reading Week (M-W Dec 6-8 @7-9pm) as well as for an exam review for BME 201 (Biomolecules) on December 14th of final's week. Many thanks to Dr. Michael Linnes, Lecturer and Instructional Laboratory Coordinator, and Ms. Lucy Tecle, Graduate Student Assistant, for coordinating the Resource Center and to all of the TAs who provided support this semester. 

 

The Resource Center will continue next spring and faculty are encouraged to schedule TA office hours and help sessions, and to direct their students to Center for course support. Questions about scheduling or suggestions for providing additional resources can be directed to Dr. Michael Linnes (mlinnes@purdue.edu) and Ms. Tecle (ltecle@purdue.edu).

 

Other On-Campus DEI Events:

Dr. Kendrick Davis, Chief Research Officer at the USC Race and Equity Center and Associate Professor at the Rossier School of Education, will be visiting Purdue and is holding discussions with students and faculty/staff around Engineering Equity Through COVID Recovery.  Please see the attached flyers for more details on the two sessions (one for students and one for faculty/staff).

Students: December 9th, 2-3pm in WALC 1132 “Engineering Equity Through COVID Recovery: Fostering Student in Unlikely Environments Discussion with Dr. Kendrick Davis”

Faculty/staff: December 9th, 4-5pm in WALC B091 “Engineering Equity Through COVID Recovery: Fostering STEM Faculty Success through Community & Strategic Partnership Discussion with Dr. Kendrick Davis”

 

PSUB is celebrating "Holidays Around the World" in the Union Great Hall on December 8th, 2021, from 10am-2:30pm. Anyone can attend and organizations that wish to highlight their cultural holidays can sign up for timeslots here: https://forms.gle/wctnXdKrSmVRH8PK9

 

 

Graduate Admissions:

 

Graduate Programs – update Dec 3 2021

Our systematic review and update of our Graduate Programs continues, with the goal to have a broad framework for changes/updates by early February for implementation in Fall 2022.  We continue to review data from various sources, and are working to map desired learning outcomes for the PhD program across a 5-year time frame, after which we will determine the most effective milestones/requirements and support systems to achieve our vision for our training program.

One NEW initiative we will be launching in Spring 2022 are monthly Faculty Coffee Chats with grad students.  This idea arose from student feedback gathered during our process, and we have already received survey input from students as to best times/days/logistics.  These coffee chats will attempt to accomplish 3 student priorities:

1.       Grad student professional development—to learn/ask/chat about topics of interest to students.

2.       Increase faculty involvement with graduate students outside of their lab.

3.       Help build community with BME grad students that may not be located in MJIS.

 

There is a lot of excitement about this initiative from our students, as well as from the Graduate Committee – we look forward to launching this initiative in January (details to come in next few weeks)!

 

Resources, attachments, further information

 

Wed., Dec. 8, 9:30 a.m., MJIS 1001 and via Zoom (https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/95028921977 ): BME Distinguished Seminar Series. Steven Steinhubl, MD, Associate Professor, Scripps Research. “The Role of Wearable Sensors in Better Understanding Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19.”

Abstract: To date (Nov. 2021), there have been over 258 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, responsible for over 5 million deaths.  For >50% of survivors, persistent symptoms, such as fatigue, dyspnea and cognitive impairment can persist for beyond 6 months following their acute infection. The massive scale, marked variability, and primarily subjective nature of these Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) has led to countless challenges to its diagnosis, mechanistic evaluation, and treatment. 

Objective measures of the long-term impact of COVID-19 on an individual’s physiology are lacking, especially when an “abnormal” finding is determined relative to accepted population normals.  However, by taking advantage of novel “digital vital signs” - measures that are based on an individual’s normal rather than a population’s normal – long-lasting, significant changes have been identified in subsets of COVID-19 survivors.  These findings, identified using data from primarily consumer wearable sensor technologies like activity bands and smartwatches, are preliminary evidence of what can be achieved, in people with, or at risk for PASC, and well beyond, through a focus on individual health.  As wearable sensor technologies continue to improve in the quality and quantity of physiologic measures they can track, supported by increasingly sophisticated data analytic techniques, they will become central to the ongoing efforts to transform health care. 

Bio: Dr. Steinhubl is a career-long clinician-scientist and the founding Director of Digital Medicine at Scripps Research’s Translational Institute.  In 2021 he began dividing his time between Scripps and physIQ where he is Chief Medical Officer.  He also remains clinically active as a cardiologist for the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.  He received his undergraduate training in chemical engineering at Purdue University, medical degree at St. Louis University and cardiology training at the Cleveland Clinic. His research has focused on the implementation of clinical programs built specifically around the novel capabilities of digital technologies, especially those made possible through combining novel sensor technologies and AI-based insights to provide personalized, real-time analyses able to detect individual changes in health. Steve has been the principal investigator of dozens of nationwide and global clinical trials, has published over 280 peer-reviewed articles and was the founding Editor-in-Chief of Nature Partner Journal - Digital Medicine. He is also the occasional breakfast cook at his wife’s B&B, Susitna Place, in Anchorage Alaska.

 

~BME Faculty Host: Dr. Matthew Ward ~

 

Wed., Dec. 8, 3:00 p.m., via Zoom: BME PhD Preliminary Exam Announcement for Hui Ma (T. Kinzer-Ursem and J. Linnes, co-advisors). Title: Computational and Experimental Investigation of Microfluidics into Biophysical Interaction.”

Place: https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/92468866334?pwd=OGt0cWRFUklzV2I0S2dhQnByd0t2UT09

Zoom ID: 924 6886 6334

Passcode: 47907

One tap mobile

+13126266799,,92468866334# US (Chicago)

+16465588656,,92468866334# US (New York)

Dial by your location

        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

Meeting ID: 924 6886 6334

Find your local number: https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/u/a4YNQv4GQ

Committee members: Dr. Jacqueline Linnes (co-chair), Dr. Tamara Kinzer-Ursem (co-chair), Dr. Arezoo Ardekani, Dr. Steven Wereley

Abstract: Microfluidic techniques have been widely applied in biomedical research such as protein-interaction measurement and point-of-care diagnostics, where experiments and computational models are both leveraged. However, there are still disadvantages and defects in many currently used protocols and models. These microfluidic methods usually need complicated external instrumentation for manipulation or analysis, and to achieve precise control. Solution volume is also much larger if syringe and tubing are necessary. In the theoretical field, models are important to help understand the mechanisms and design the devices. It remains a critical need to improve or develop new models. The goal of this work is in two aspects: optimize protein binding measurement using microfluidic methods and develop new models for rotational diffusion and partially saturated liquid flow in porous media. First, I use particle diffusometry (PD) to measure protein-interaction association constant by common lab equipment. Therefore, the instruments and consumables required in current gold standard are not necessary. Second, to reduce the solution volume needed in microfluidic experiments, I design a chip leveraging air/water two-phase flow, which only needs 2ěL solution for protein-interaction analysis. Next, I develop a new method simulating rotational diffusion coefficients of particles based on the Navier-Stokes equation. This model is as accurate as the currently widely used shell model but more efficient and straightforward. Finally, a new model is built to investigate partially saturated flow in porous media. Experiments are implemented to confirm the validity. This model can be applied in hydrology, geology, paper-based biomedical devices and so on.

 

Wed., Dec. 15, 1:00 p.m., via Webex: BME PhD Defense Announcement for Nicolas Leiva Molano (E. Nauman, advisor)

Everyone is invited to attend the public presentation beginning at 1:00pm EST.

Research Title: Modal Testing as a Novel Evaluation Method for Shockpad Layers in Composite Sport Surfaces 

Thesis committee members:  

Eric A. Nauman (Chair) 

Thomas M. Talavage 

Scott E. Lawrance 

James M. Gibert 

WebEx Meeting link:

https://purdue.webex.com/purdue/j.php?MTID=mb63e5778364e3d479c70c32f28ec71ec  

Meeting number: 

2624 799 2645 

Password: 

FinalExam121521 

Abstract:  Use of artificial turf (AT) as s sport surface has increased in the last decade. reflected in the financial commitment countries such as USA ($2.7 billion USD) and England ($318 million USD) have pledged to spend on the installation of synthetic surfaces. Nonetheless, AT has maintained its negative reputation due to a reported greater burden of lower limb injury when compared to its natural turf (NT) counterpart. Quantification of the performance of AT is limited by the existing industry testing metrics that rely heavily on the recording of peak translational acceleration. These parameters include shock absorption, vertical deformation and energy restitution, and are only calculated after impacting the top-most layer of AT. Hence, a novel design of experiment and approach to quantifying turf performance was piloted, with special attention given to the transfer of energy through the AT system. Despite its renown use for detecting structural health irregularities in other industries, frequency domain based modal analysis has not been used as a tool to explore sports surface properties. Impact testing was used to calculate frequency response functions, to help estimate modal parameters and transmissibility properties of AT. This method was able to determine isolated and interaction effects of AT components to impact attenuation. Furthermore, this novel methodology has potential for on-field analysis which takes the first step towards smart fields for measuring surface performance during athletic events.