Robert F. Kirsch, Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, and Geoffrey Vince, the Virginia Lois Kennedy Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering and Applied Therapeutics at Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, share news about their respective departments and the BME Alliance.
One of the strengths of the Biomedical Engineering Alliance between Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic is that our staff members are involved in an array of core areas, from artificial intelligence to neural engineering and rehabilitation. This diversity creates an environment where our 60-plus primary faculty – and dozens more associated and research faculty – find synergies among their work and push one another to view projects from a different lens.
Feature articles in this issue of our newsletter highlight research projects and collaborations in three of our research thrusts – biomaterials, immunoengineering and biomedical imaging.
Biomaterials – Anirban Sen Gupta, the Wallace R. Persons Endowed Professor of Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, is an investigator on an ambitious four-year, $46.4 million project funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a bioartificial whole blood surrogate. The potential for use in surgeries, injuries, disease and bleeding disorders is immeasurable.
Immunoengineering – Newly-appointed Assistant Professor Abhinav Acharya’s research is at the intersection of biomaterials and immunoengineering. His lab is designing biomaterials to modify the metabolism of immune cells and see if it affects disease outcome. Ultimately, that could lead to translatable products to treat inflammatory conditions, autoimmune diseases, cancer and other conditions.
Biomedical Imaging – Cleveland Clinic is planning two new cutting-edge medical imaging centers. As part of a strategic partnership, the healthcare system and Canon Inc. expect to establish a comprehensive imaging research center where cross-institutional teams will focus on projects in cardiology, neurology and musculoskeletal medicine. In addition, the Arthritis Foundation designated Cleveland Clinic as the future home for its Osteoarthritis Imaging Center.
With so much going on within the Biomedical Engineering Alliance, it’s challenging for us to narrow down a handful of projects and partnerships to focus on in feature articles. You can get a glimpse of the extent of our work in the Faculty & Staff Highlights, which include news about grants, journal publications, awards and more from biomedical engineering staff at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.
We’re also proud to teach and mentor the next generation of biomedical engineers. The Student Spotlight gives well-deserved attention to undergraduate and graduate students who have earned research awards, landed highly sought after fellowships and won paper and poster awards. One of our PhD candidates at Case Western Reserve University, Leah Roldan, was honored to meet President Biden last fall and share details about her work at the Advanced Platform Technology Center and Human Fusions Institute on neural interfaces for prosthesis sensory feedback.
There is a lot going on in Cleveland, and we’re excited to share it with you. We’d also love to hear from you. If you have a comment about one of our stories or you’re among our alumni and want to share news, reach out to us at bme-news@case.edu.
| Robert F. Kirsch Allen H. and Constance T. Ford Professor Chair of Biomedical Engineering Case Western Reserve University |
Geoffrey Vince The Virginia Lois Kennedy Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering and Applied Therapeutics Lerner Research Institute Cleveland Clinic |