BME MONDAY ROUNDTABLE

January 10, 2022

WELCOME BACK LETTER

Dear Weldon School,

Welcome to Spring 2022!  Two years ago, a new SARS-like virus started its course that has forever changed us, but it has not defeated us, and it will not.  As we start this new year amongst new challenges from the Omicron variant of SARS-Cov-2, we need to remain vigilant and not let our guard down.  This means staying focused on wearing masks to protect yourself and those around you.  This means being aware of symptoms and testing as needed and as according to your Protect Purdue pledge.  This means staying focused on learning and discovery- things that will stay with you long after the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic has passed.  The fall semester was a celebration of BME accomplishments- in the outstanding senior design projects that were showcased, the new technologies, discoveries, and grants that have come from research in the school, and new acknowledgements and awards for our staff for the many ways they support this school and help all of us thrive.  There were many moves behind the scenes as well that are also noteworthy- these include the new salary minimum of $28K for BME matriculating graduate student RA appointments effective January 1, 2022 for all current and future graduate student RAs.  Fellowship and TA stipends follow the fellowship and college-level guidelines specific to each appointment (fellowships vary based on NSF, NIH, private, College-level, etc. guidelines and currently stand at $27K for TAs).  We are working on increasing TA and fellowship stipends, which are controlled outside of BME.  I want to say thank you to the DEI committee, the members of the graduate committee, the participants of the Town Hall, the business office, and all the faculty members that worked hard to reach the new RA levels for the beginning of the year and to all the graduate students for your outstanding research and teaching accomplishments that contribute to the strength of our school.  Let’s keep the momentum from Fall of 2021 going into 2022 and I greatly look forward to seeing and hearing about your successes.   

PROTECT PURDUE

• Masks are still required! 
  https://protect.purdue.edu/required-covid-19-protocols/
• Vaccines are strongly encouraged (though not required)
  https://protect.purdue.edu/vaccine-information/
• Updated guidance came out on Jan 7- for research SOPs, etc. and Protect Purdue.  Please make sure you are staying current with Purdue guidelines.

UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES

Martin Luther King Jr. Activities:

• There are still many openings to participate in activities in Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, January 17, 2022.  Please see what’s available and register at:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/martin-luther-king-jr-day-of-service-tickets-216540066167

Week of Jan. 10

Wed., Jan. 12 – Prospective BME Seminar – Matthew Ward, Purdue University, “Neural Regulation of Abnormal Organ Physiology with Smart Bioelectronics,” 9:30 a.m., MJIS 1001 and via Zoom: https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/95150439811?pwd=a3hOK0o0bmpkS3poTVBCbVhDNU9FZz09

Upcoming important deadlines and info.

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).

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

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

Fri., Jan. 14:  CIGP Lynn Fellowship nominations due. Limited to three per department. Submit through Nan Kong.

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)

Mon., Jan. 24 – Updated faculty CVs due to Jo (jo@purdue.edu). Formatting requirements include page numbers, and date on first page (e.g., January 2022)

Tues., Feb. 1 –  Deadline to apply for the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research postdoctoral fellowship opportunity. The Fund takes a broad approach to the study of cell growth and development, emphasizing the study of the basic biology and chemistry of the underlying processes. The majority of past recipients come from departments of biology, chemistry, genetics, physiology, bioengineering, etc.  Details below.

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

Upcoming prospective faculty seminars.

Wed., Jan. 12 – Prospective BME Seminar – Matthew Ward, Purdue University, “Neural Regulation of Abnormal Organ Physiology with Smart Bioelectronics,” 9:30 a.m., MJIS 1001 and via Zoom

Mon., Jan. 31 – Jesse Jokerst, 9:30 a.m., MJIS 2001 and via Zoom

Wed., Feb. 2 – Connie Wu, 9:30 a.m., MJIS 1001 and via Zoom

Mon., Feb. 7 – Nancy Xu, 9:30 a.m., MJIS 1083 and via Zoom

Wed., Feb. 9 – Mehdi Javanmard, 9:30 a.m., MJIS 1001 and via Zoom

Mon., Feb. 14 – Umut Gurkan, 9:30 a.m., MJIS 2001 and via Zoom

Mon., Feb. 21 – Craig Forest, 9:30 a.m., MJIS 1083 and via Zoom

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!)

Committee Updates

Graduate Admissions (****TIME SENSITIVE****):

• Recruiting season is upon us. Please be proactive about talking to candidates to build rapport and to increase our recruiting pool.
• Each Research Area is advised to make a plan to nominate fellowship candidates by the deadline
• Updated fellowship evaluation rubric will be provided late Nov or early Dec.
• Jan 13 for George Washington Carver, PDF, Knox
• Jan 21 for Remaining fellowships
• In lieu of extensive research area introduction, we will have a virtual “meet-the-faculty” meeting in Dec to finalize the in-person visitation list.
• This is an optional event.
• It will be live for invited (applied) students to meet you but could be pre-recorded (i.e., CoE Showcase event that happened before) to introduce your lab.
• The premise is to increase our touchpoints with candidates.
• We are looking to revive the “Science on Tap” event during our open house.
• So we need a volunteer speaker!
• We hear it’s a great exposure and highly recommended (by Maria!)

Graduate Programs – update

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

Six Lynn Fellowships are available for Computational Interdisciplinary Graduate Program for the 2022-2023 academic year. Lynn Fellowships are meant to attract graduate students who can make the greatest contributions to our doctoral programs and should be made to students who are not already been enrolled in a Purdue West Lafayette graduate program. Each fellowship provides a four-year award package to the fellow. The Lynn Fellowship, administered as an assistantship, provides tuition coverage and a medical insurance supplement.

• Stipend/Salary is set by the department - minimum stipend of $19,667/year but can be supplemented by departmental funds to standard rate for that department.
• An annual medical insurance premium contribution which pays a portion of the Graduate Staff Insurance, the value of which is currently estimated at $1,622.00 per year.
• A graduate tuition remission, currently valued at $35,650.00 annually, is provided to cover tuition costs.
• Lynn Fellowship offers must be supplemented by three additional years of support from the department after the first year of support of the Lynn Fellowship.

NOMINATION REQUREMENTS:

1. CIGP Lynn Fellowship nominees must be an applicant for a doctoral degree program joining Purdue University in Fall 2022 or Spring 2023 (continuing Purdue students are not eligible for this fellowship)
2. All nominations must come through the CIGP (CS&E or CLS) Representative:

https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/cigp/about/faculty/cse.html

https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/cigp/about/faculty/cls.html

3. Nominations are limited to three per department - If more than one student is nominated the department representative should provide a ranked list. A very short description (3-5 sentences) of each student's strength along with their potential in Computational Interdisciplinary research should be provided.
4. The nomination must be submitted using Qualtrics.  The representative must provide their name, the student’s name, application identification number, and the short description(s).

Other Information:

• The student’s application does not have to be included in the nomination, but will be accessed by CIGP from the graduate school applications database.
• CIGP Lynn reviews committee will evaluate nomination packets and announce the awardees by mid-February or earlier.
• CIGP Lynn offer letters will be communicated to the Department Head, CIGP Representative and the Graduate Contact first.  Once the Department Head approves the funding package (additional 3 years of support) by email, then the department will write and send the offer to the student.  A Lynn Fellowship template will be provided.

Offer Process and Assessment guidelines:

• Assessment of students will be based on academic record, research experience and potential for contributions to computational advancements in their field of study. We encourage the nomination of students aligning with Purdue University’s commitment to creating and sustaining an inclusive and diverse community in computational sciences.
• Holding multiple internal fellowships is discouraged by the Graduate School.  Students who have been offered other Purdue fellowships (Ross, Andrews, Chappelle and Doctoral) may not be nominated for a Lynn fellowship. Stacking of internal fellowships towards one student is not an effective strategy because the yield rate from offers is low.  However, the Graduate School provides that multiple awards may in some cases be blended over time to provide longer-term fellowship support. For example, a student with both an external and a Purdue fellowship may defer all or part of the Purdue fellowship so as to increase his/her fellowship support beyond one year. Cases of this nature will be addressed on an ad hoc basis.

DEADLINE:

Nominations must be submitted only by the CIGP representatives through Qualtrics by the main CIGP Representative and are due on Friday, January 14th, 2022 by 5:00 p.m.  If you have any questions, please contact Amy Ledman (aledman@purdue.edu), Program Specialist for CIGP.

The Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research has a postdoctoral fellowship opportunity. The Fund takes a broad approach to the study of cell growth and development, emphasizing the study of the basic biology and chemistry of the underlying processes. The majority of past recipients come from departments of biology, chemistry, genetics, physiology, bioengineering, etc.

Summary:

· Deadline: February 1, 2022

· Amount: $177,000 total/3 years

· Summary: The Fund supports research into the causes and treatment of cancer. Projects that support basic research, including basic biology and chemistry, are emphasized.

· Website: https://www.jccfund.org/about-fund/

· Notes:

o 25-30 fellowships are awarded each year; the Fund receives approx. 350 applications each year

o Postdoctoral applicants should have no more than 18 months of postdoctoral research experience at the time of the deadline for submitting applications (February 1)

o PhD. degree must not have been conferred more than 24 months prior to the deadline date (February 1)