Congratulations to Dean Mark Redfern and Professor William Federspiel who were reappointed to William Kepler Whiteford Professorships effective September 1, 2009.  The award is for five years.  In letters sent to Dean Redfern and Professor Federspiel, Dean Holder wrote, "Your selection reflects the high value placed upon your contribution to scholarship, graduate and undergraduate education, external research support, research quality and contributions to diversity. ... Further it reflects the strong support of your faculty colleagues and Chairman."

Professor David Vorp has been elected to a second three-year term on the Board of Directors of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).

PhD Candidate, Jong Kim is the recipient of the American Heart Association Claude R. Joyner M.D. Research Grant.  The AHA will be hosting a research reception on Thursday, October 13^th to present Jong Kim with his award. Jong is the 1st BioE PhD candidate to win this prestigious award. Congratulations to Professor Guy Salama, (Jong's dissertation advisor) for this wonderful award.

BioE Undergraduate, Steven Boronyak's BMES extended abstract was selected as one of two winners of the 2009 BMES Extended Abstract Student Awards - Undergraduate Student.  According to BMES HQ a record number of submissions was received this year for this award and the scholarship level was exceedingly high.  The award will be presented to Steven at the "BMES Award Ceremony" taking place Thursday, October 8th, in the David Lawrence Conference Center.  Steven is performing his undergraduate research in Professor Michael Sacks' lab under the direction of Dr. Sharan Ramaswamy.

PhD candidate, Kim Jong's American Heart Association Pre-doctoral Fellowship application entitled, "The Spatiotemporal Dispersion of Extracellular Potassium Accumulation and Its Role in Cardiac Arrhythmias," has been awarded funding for the period 7/1/2009 - 6/30/2011.  Kim is conducting this work in Professor Guy Salama's lab

Professor David Vorp has been invited by Columbia University as the 2009-2010 speaker for the "Biomedical Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series."  Previous winners of this award were Professor Buddy Ratner and Professor Gerard Karsenty.  Professor Vorp will deliver his distinguished lecture in the fall.   

BioE graduate student, Suny Patel received an Honorable Mention for the Best Presentation Award in Biomechanics and Engineering of Cells and Tissues (MS level) for his presentation entitled, ”Characterization of Isolated Urethral Smooth Muscle Cells and Their Incorporation into a Tissue Engineered Urethral Wrap,” at the ASME's Summer Bioengineering Conference held last week in Lake Tahoe, CA.  Suny conducted this work in Professor David Vorp's lab.

Professor Michael Sacks has been awarded the 2009 Van C. Mow Medal of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).  The inscription on the medal diploma reads, "For contributions in advancing biomechanics of native and engineered heart valve tissues; and leadership in the development of the bioengineering profession, services to its community and inspired guidance and inspired guidance of young bioengineers."  BioE extends our heartiest congratulations to Professor Sacks for this most prestigious award in recognition of an exceptional career!

BioE undergraduate student, Samantha Horvath has been selected as a Beckman Scholar for the 2009-2010 academic year.  Samantha works in Professor George Stetten's laboratory on the Fingersight project as well as the Breadboard Laboratory Interface Processor (BLIP) and PittKit educational system used in BioE 1310. 

BioE undergraduate student, Emma Baillargeon has been selected to be the Keynote Speaker at the SSOE Senior Recognition Night this coming Saturday.  We are proud to include Emma on the list of BioE seniors who have been so honored over the years.

BioE graduate student, Chris Carruthers has been awarded a 2009 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.  This is a most competitive award, and Chris, who is undertaking his dissertation research in Professor Michael Sacks' lab.

BioE graduate student, Jamie Haney has been selected to receive a 2009 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) award! Jamie who is undertaking her dissertation research in Professor Sanjeev Shroff's lab, is the second Pitt BioE undergraduate student who matriculated to our graduate program to receive the GRF award (other former Pitt undergraduate students have been awarded GRFs at their graduate institutions).  Dr. Jennifer Collinger, who recently completed her PhD in Professor Michael Boninger's lab, is the other former Pitt BioE undergraduate student to receive the GRF award.

BioE undergraduate, Patrick Vescovi was one of three Pitt undergraduate students recognized in the 2009 Barry M Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program.  Patrick received honorable mention.  Goldwater scholarships are awarded to outstanding students who intend to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering. Patrick intends to pursue the MD, PhD in radiology/bioengineering. Other the years BioE has had multiple Goldwater awardees, and all currently are pursuing advanced degrees at outstanding institutions.

Based on the unanimous recommendation of the Panel of Fellows, Professor Prashant N. Kumta has been elected to the grade of Fellow of the American Ceramics Society (ACerS).  Professor Kumta will be recognized at the ACerS Honors and Awards Banquet this coming fall.

BioE graduate student, Bryan Brown's paper entitled, “The Effects of Sidedness and Crosslinking Upon the Surface Characteristics of Extracellular Matrix Scaffolds,” was nominated by the Surface Characterization and Modification SIG Special Interest Group as an outstanding contribution to the Society For Biomaterials 2009 Annual Meeting.  The Education and Professional Development Committee of the Society has awarded Bryan with a STAR!  (Student Travel Achievement Recognition).  Bryan is conducting this research in Dr. Stephen Badylak's lab.

Dr. Kyong Tae Bae's R01 application entitled, "Assessing the prognosis of pulmonary embolism using clinical and imaging biomarkers," has been awarded funding via NHLBI.  Current efforts are focused on the study IRB and building infrastructures to fully operate the study.  

BioE graduate student, Matthew Fisher's paper entitled "In-Vitro Evaluation of Suture Augmentation Techniques After ACL Injury" received the Best Student Paper Award at the International Symposium on Ligaments and Tendons - IX held on Saturday, February 21, 2009. Matt is conducting this work in Professor Savio Woo's lab.

BioE graduate student, Jonathan Kirk's poster presentation entitled, "Left Ventricular and Myocardial Function In Mice Expressing Constitutively Psuedo-Phosphorylated Cardiac Troponin I," was awarded 2nd Place in the Basic Science category in this week's American Heart Association Fellows Research Day.  Jonathan is completing his PhD dissertation research in Professor Sanjeev Shroff's lab.

BioE PhD student, Fatima Naz Syed-Picard has been awarded an NIH F31 Ruth L Kirschstein Pre-doctoral Fellowship (effective March 1, 2009) to undertake the project entitled, "Cell-based scaffold-less three-dimensional construct, a model for dentinogenesis."  This work is being conducted in Dr. Charles Sfeir’s lab. 

Professor William Federspiel will serve as a member of the Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Sciences Study Section, Center for Scientific Review (CSR) for the term beginning July 1, 2009 and ending June 30, 2013.   In his letter to meet regarding Professor Federspiel, CSR Director Dr. Toni Scarpa writes, "Study section members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific discipline as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors ... I want to take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of Dr. Federspiel's participation in assuring the quality of the NIH peer review process."

Dr. Tamer Ibrahim's one year pilot grant to the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (through an NIH program grant.) has been awarded funding.  Dr. Ibrahim's RO1 supplement submitted in collaboration with Dr. Chu has also been awarded NIH funding. Dr. Chu is the P.I. on the RO1 supplement which is funded in collaboration with Dr. Ibrahim and colleagues in Radiology. The bulk of the work is for 7 tesla imaging.

Dr. David Merryman's K25 application entitled, "TGF beta 1 Activity in the Aortic Valve," has been awarded funding for 5-years.  Dr. Merryman, who completed his PhD in Professor Michael Sacks' lab, is currently Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

BioE graduate student, Jolene Valentin received a highly competitive Travel Award to attend the TERMIS-NA 2008 conference in San Diego.  Jolene is completing her Ph.D. in Professor Stephen Badylak's lab.

On October 23, Professor Savio Woo received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering from the University Council of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.  In the conferment ceremony, President Chung-Kwong Poon said this honor recognizes the contributions Professor Woo has made to the advancement of musculoskeletal biomechanics and engineering sciences, especially in the area of novel orthopedic sports medicine and rehabilitation treatments.

The project submitted by BioE undergrad students, Craig Lehocky and Bradley Morneweck entitled, Stand-OFF, has been selected as one of 5 finalists in the 2008 Energy-Efficient Building Technologies Challenge sponsored by the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and the Heinz Endowments.  The organizing committee received 29 very strong proposals so this is a very worthy accomplishment!

National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center (ERC) was officially funded and launched on September 1.  Dean Gerald Holder, Dr. William Wagner, Dr. Savio Woo and Dr. Harvey Borovetz attended Media Day September 4^th in Greensboro, NC where the official announcement was made.  In addition, a number of BioE faculty have been key participants in the development of the ERC Program including Professor Arthur Ciarkowski and Drs. Xinyan Cui, Prashant Kumta, Kacey Marra, Mark Redfern and Charles Sfeir.

Professor George Stetten has been invited to serve on a Special Study Section for the NIBIB – Howard Hughes T32 training grants in mid-November.  In 2005 the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) partnered with the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to create a new funding mechanism to develop and sustain interdisciplinary graduate education.  Professor Stetten will participate in the Phase II program review, which is aimed to sustain recently established interdisciplinary training programs through their early critical years.

Professor Bradley Keller's R01 application entitled, "Engineered Early Embryonic Cardiac Tissue," has been awarded funding for the period 7/1/08 - 5/31/12. Professor William Wagner is co-investigator on this award. A brief description follows: We have developed an Engineered Early Embryonic Cardiac Tissue, termed EEECT, using embryonic cardiac cells isolated during the period of primary morphogenesis in order to investigate the regulation of embryonic CM proliferation and differentiation and to generate tissues with optimal properties for cardiac repair. Our EEECT construct uses a simple cylindrical geometry which is reproducible, scalable, and preserves the unique proliferative and contractile properties of developing myocardium. Using EEECT we can investigate the regulation of CM proliferation and maturation within a functioning in vitro 3D environment. EEECT proliferation and force production increases in response to cyclic mechanical stretch. With prolonged culture EEECT acquires a post-natal myocardial phenotype (reduced proliferation, increased calcium and β-adrenergic sensitivity, and increased force production). Preliminary data show that cylindrical EEECT can be implanted onto recipient injured adult myocardium as part of a cardiac repair/recovery strategy. Implanted EEECT survive, proliferate, and functionally contribute to recipient cardiac functional recovery.

Professor Savio Woo received an Honorary Professorship from Beijing University of Aeronatics and Astronautics (BUAA), while he and Mrs. Woo were attending the Olympic Games in Beijing as guests of IOC President Jacques Rogge.  BUAA’s President Li, a member of the Chinese national Academy of Engineering, conducted the ceremony and Dean Fan of the School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering introduced Professor Woo.  The honor was bestowed upon Professor Woo for his many seminal contributions to Biomedical Engineering research and education.  Professor Woo will also serve as Chair of the International Advisory Committee of the School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering at BUAA. 

Dr. Richard Debski received a Faculty Partner Award from Career Services for excellent work in helping to establish a network of companies for employment and internship opportunities for our undergraduates.  As you know this is critically important for those among our students whose professional ambitions are a career in industry; and under Dr. Debski's leadership, the Department is making great strides in this regard.

BioE’s participation at the 13th International Congress of Biorheology and 6th International Conference on Clinical Hemorheology, The Pennsylvania State University, July 9 -13.

(1)   Poster 47: Viscoelastic behavior of ovine blood and its implication for in vitro and in vivo testing of pediatric VAD ,A.R. Daly, P.J. Marascalco, M.V. Kameneva

(2)   Symposium: Potential clinical applications of blood soluble drag-reducing polymers.  Co-Chair: M.V. Kameneva, Microscale effects of drag-reducing polymers J.N. Marhefka, S.S. Velankar, R. Zhao, Z. Wu, J.F. Antaki and M.V. Kameneva, Effects of blood-soluble drag-reducing polymers on macro- and microhemodynamics: Potential clinical applications M. Kameneva

(3)   Symposium: Hemorheological aspects of mechanical blood trauma., Co-Chairs: J. Antaki and M.V. Kameneva, Computational indices for prediction of flow-induced blood trauma J.F. Antaki Experimental and theoretical investigation of blood microflow dynamics associated with blood contacting devices R. Zhao, M. Massoudi, S.J. Hund, M.V. Kameneva and J.F. Antaki

(4)   Symposium: Hemorheological modelling and simulation, A new approach to modeling blood viscosity S.J. Hund, M.V. Kameneva and J.F. Antaki

(5)   Professor Marina Kameneva was elected as a Council Member of the International Society of Biorheology.

Dr. Candace Brayfield, who is completing the Ph.D. in Dr. Kacey Marra's lab, was awarded a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from the 2008-09 Provost's Development Fund. Also, Erinn Joyce in Professor Michael Sacks' lab also has been awarded a Pre-Doctoral Fellowship from the 2008-09 Provost's Development Fund.  

Dr. Timothy Maul has been selected to receive a Travel Award from the International Society for Applied Cardiovascular Biology (ISACB) to present his abstract entitled, "Mechanical Stimulation differentially controls Proliferation, Morphology and Protein Expression in Mesenchymal Progenitor Cells."  The ISACB Meeting is being held in Bordeaux, France on September 17 - 20, 2008.  Dr. Maul's work to be presented was conducted in Dr. David Vorp’s lab.  Dr. Maul's current Fellowship is being undertaken in Dr. William Wagner's lab.

Professor George Stetten has been promoted to Research Professor at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute effective today, July 1, 2008.

The 2007 impact factors for Professor William Wagner's journal, Acta Biomaterialia, have just been released.  This is the second impact factor for this journal which is now in its 4th year of existence.  Acta Biomaterialia has risen to the #2 ranked journal in the biomaterials category (16 ranked journals). The impact factor for 2007 is 3.113.  Journal submissions have tripled since the initial impact factor was released last summer!  Congratulations to Professor Wagner for his editorship/leadership of Acta Biomaterialia.

Melanie  Ruffner's NIH F30 Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA for Individual MD/PhDs entitled, "IL-4 Overexpressing Dendritic Cells and Exosomes for Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes," has been awarded funding.  Melanie is conducting this research in Dr. Robbins' lab. 

Dr. William D. Merryman, who completed his PhD in Professor Michael Sacks' lab and is currently Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering University of Alabama at Birmingham, has been awarded a Coulter Foundation Early Career Award entitled, "Radiofrequency Ablation to Treat Mitral Valve Disease."  

BioE graduate student, Chad Eckert's American Heart Association (AHA) Pre-doctoral Fellowship application entitled, "Quantifying the Ability of the Mitral Valve to Adapt to Abnormal Stress States Following Repair," received a priority score: 1.3867 (a score of 1.0 - 1.4 being considered 'excellent') and a percentile rank: 6.76. The scientific review was glowing; for example one reviewer noted, "The proposed research is of high significance in science, bioengineering, biological science and clinical practice. Anticipated results will lead to improved basic understanding of valve mechanics and possible improvements in mitral valve repair surgical procedures." Chad is the 3rd PhD candidate in Professor Michael Sacks' lab to be awarded an AHA Pre-doctoral Fellowship. Drs. George Engelmayr and David Merryman were also  AHA Pre-doctoral Fellows.

Professor Michael Sacks has been invited as the 2008-2009 keynote speaker for the Richard Skalak Bioengineering Colloquium @Columbia University.  The Richard Skalak Biomedical Eengineering Colloquium was established in 1996 to honor Professor Richard Skalak for his contributions to Columbia University and his accomplishment in the development of biomedical engineering at Columbia.  Professor Sacks joins distinguished researchers in biomechanics and biomedical engineering who have delivered these lectures.  Professor Sacks will speak in the Spring 2009.

Dr. Steven Little's Beckman Foundation Young Innovator Award application entitled, "Synthetic Dendritic Cells," has been selected for funding.  Dr. Little may be the 1st Pitt faculty member to receive this prestigious award!

BIRM trainee, Michael  Hill (BioE graduate student), has received a prestigious NSF EAPSI grant to work with Dr. Akira Takahashi at Tohoku University.  Chad Eckert was the other recipient.

Graduate student, Ellen Brennan has been awarded a prestigious F31 Pre-doctoral Fellowship for her project entitled, "Antibactrial degradation products of extracellular matrix bioscaffolds." Ellen who is conducting this research in Dr. Stephen Badylak's lab, is the 7th BioE PhD candidate to recently be awarded an F31, and the 2nd student (along with Donald Freytes) in Dr. Badylak's lab to receive this wonderful award.

Professor Michael Sacks has been selected to receive a 2008 Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award in the Senior Scholar Category. In his letter to Professor Sacks regarding this award, Chancellor Nordenberg writes, “Your known accomplishments … show that you have achieved national and international eminence as an outstanding scholar in your field … You have conducted pioneering work in the experimental and theoretical understanding of soft tissue mechanics.  You possess noted expertise in heart valve analysis and replacement.  Your peers conclude that you are at the top of your field … a world class leader in tissue mechanics and the world leader in heart valve tissue mechanics.”

Dr. Mark Gartner’s senior design class won $500 stipends from NCIIA for their projects.  The project titles and groups are: “Design of an Incubator for Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Haiti” Ted Kastenhuber, Bradley Morneweck, Christopher Withers and Bailey Roche and “Design of an Anatomical Polyaxial Vertebral Hook” Kate Campbell, Benjamin Schmidt, Shawn Burton and Amy McCarty.

Dr. Savio Woo has been made the first recipient of the College of Engineering, University of Washington’s prestigious Diamond Award for Distinguished Achievement in Academia. The UW College of Engineering has long honored outstanding alumni in industry, but this is the first time that the Diamond Award has been extended to an outstanding alumnus for exceptional knowledge and significant contributions to the field of engineering in academia. The award celebrates Dr. Woo’s academic, professional and personal accomplishments. He is a rare scientist who is honored by membership in both the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering, as well as in Academia Sinica (PRC). For his work, Dr. Woo has been recognized with highest honors by many professional societies including the Bioengineering Division of the American Society of Biomechanics, the International Society of Biomechanics, as well as the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Dr. Steven Abramowitch has been selected as a Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) Scholar, effective January, 2008. The purpose of this program is to support the development of young faculty members with research interests in the field of women's health as independent investigators.  Dr. Abramowitch was selected for his innovative research in the biomechanics of pelvic disorders being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Pam Moalli at Magee Women's Research Institute.

Professor Fernando Boada has been elected as a member of the 2008 AIMBE Class of Fellows.  Formal induction of the 2008 AIMBE Class of Fellows will occur in February in D.C.  Professor Boada is being honored "For pioneering contributions to functional and metabolic magnetic resonance imaging and its applications to cancer and stroke diagnosis and treatment monitoring in humans."

At the annual BioE Board of Visitors dinner on November 16th, Professor Mark Redfern was honored with the 2007-2008 Board of Visitors Faculty Award.  In making the presentation to Professor Redfern, Provost Maher noted Professor Redfern's research contributions in the area of postural control; Professor Redfern's funding portfolio which approaches $20 M overall in P.I. and collaborative funding over the years; Professor Redfern's scores of publications; Mark's outstanding leadership in BioE educational programs; Professor Redfern's commitment to mentorship; and of course, Mark's perfect "5.0" teaching evaluations which are at the very top across the entire campus!

Professor Michael Sacks has been invited to contribute a review article on "Heart Valve Tissue Engineering" for the Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, Volume 11.  The Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering is the highest impact factor journal (among 42) ISI includes in the category "Engineering, Biomedical."

BioE graduate student, Alan Degengart has been selected to receive a one year fellowship in the Multimodal Neuroimaging Training Program (MNTP) beginning January 1, 2008.  MNTP is funded through an NIH/NIDA T90 Program, which may be another funding mechanism for our graduate students that we need to explore. MNTP is co-directed by Professor Seong-gi Kim @Pitt and Professor William Eddy @CMU. Alan is conducting his research in Dr. Douglas Weber's lab.

Tom Robey, who is an MD, PhD candidate at the University of Washington, has been awarded the PhD degree and is now completing his medical degree.  Dr. Robey was a triple major during his years as an undergraduate student @Pitt.  He was awarded the B. Phil in BioE by completing an honors thesis in Dr. William Wagner’s lab.

Professor Savio Woo has been elected LIFE FELLOW, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Professor Savio Woo received the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award of the Bay Area Knee Society, November 1 in San Francisco, CA.  The Bay Area Knee Society is an academic organization based in San Francisco, which for the past two decades, has annually recognized outstanding individuals who have made lifelong contributions in advancing the art and science of knee surgery.  Dr. Woo will be the 21^st recipient of this prestigious, internationally recognized award that many consider as the “Nobel Prize” of the knee.

BioE graduate student. Xiaoyan  Zhang was awarded the 2007 Erin McGurk Research Grant from the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory Alumni Council (ORLAC) for her project entitled, “A Subject-specific Model of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament.”  Xiaoyan is conducting this work in the Musculoskeletal Research Center, under the direction of Professor Savio Woo.  The award provides funding for a female graduate student to perform musculoskeletal research during the summer.   

Dr. James Wang has received conferral of tenure as Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in the School of Medicine.  BioE extends our heartiest congratulations to Dr. Wang on this career achievement.

Professor George Stetten has been appointed Co-Director of the Pitt/CMU Medical Scientist Training Program (MD, PhD Program). This appointment is most fitting for Professor Stetten who has been totally committed to the academic success of our outstanding MSTP Program. Professor Stetten has been particularly successful at recruiting top bioengineering recruits to our MSTP and Pitt BioE.

BioE undergraduate student, Daniel Wilkinson won the SRI "Best Research Presentation Award" for the 2007 Excel Summer Research Internship program.  The title of Dan’s talk was "Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Alginate Gels."  Dan conducted his work under the mentorship of Dr. Bridget Deasy.

BioE graduate student, Josh Woolley has been selected as the recipient for the Paul Malchesky student abstract fellowship based on his oral slide presentation at the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) 2007 conference in Chicago this past June entitled, “Ovine Platelet Aggregation Sensitivity to Anticoagulant and Anti-Platelet Agents.”   Josh scored first out of six finalists for the award. Josh is conducting this work in Professor William Wagner’s lab.

Professor Patrick Loughlin's RO1 application entitled, "Modeling Sensory Integration and Attention in Postural Control of Older Adults," has been awarded funding by the National Institute of Aging (NIA). Co-Investigators are Drs. Furman, Jennings, Redfern and Sparto.  Pilot funding for this research came from the NIA-funded Pittsburgh Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, directed by Dr. Studenski.

Based on the recommendations of Dean Gerald Holder and Provost James Maher, Chancellor Mark Nordenberg has approved the promotion of Dr. George Stetten to the rank of Professor of Bioengineering in the School of Engineering.  This appointment will be effective September 1, 2007.  Chancellor Nordenberg writes in his letter to Professor Stetten, “Your record of accomplishments to date clearly suggests that the years ahead will bring contributions of significance benefiting your discipline, this University and the broader society.”

Effective May 1, 2007 Professor Savio Woo is appointed University Professor of Bioengineering by Chancellor Nordenberg. University Professorship “constitutes the highest honor that the University can accord a member of the professorate.”  Appointment as University Professor recognizes “eminence in several fields of study, transcending accomplishments in and contributions to a single discipline.  National and where appropriate, international recognition in at least one field is required.”  It is a singular honor for our faculty to be the home academic department of Professor Savio Woo, who is dedicated to helping Pitt Bioengineering and the School of Engineering achieve new heights of academic excellence.

Professor Rory Cooper was selected to receive the 2007 da Vinci Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ford Motor company. The Award will be presented at a black tie dinner on Friday, September 28, 2007 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan.

Dr. Steve Little has recently been selected as a Clinical Research Scholar (CRSP) through the NIH K12 mechanism. Dr. Little's K12 will focus on research at the interface of the fields of Chemical/Bioengineering and Immunology/Transplantation, in particular to engineer biomimetic immunotherapeutic strategies through the use of biodegradable materials and the principles of drug delivery.

The company founded by Professor Michael Pinsky and colleagues, iNtelomed, was one of four local firms that won awards from the Pittsburgh Technology Council for the annual EnterPrize Business Plan Competition.  iNtelomed is a medical device company focused on commercializing technology to enable recognition of cardiovascular instability, or a nonambulatory patient's ability to adapt to stress.

Edward Kastebhuber, a junior undergraduate BioE major, will receive an Italian Room Committee Grant that will allow him to study abroad in Sicily this summer and complete a minor in Italian.  Dr. Jack Patzer assisted Edward in the application by submitting a letter of recommendation for this terrific opportunity.

On behalf of the US National Committee for Biomechanics, Dr. David Vorp has been invited to participate in a Summit of Experts in Biomechanics, to be held in the Keystone Resort and Conference Center, Keystone, Colorado, June 18-20.  This will be a small meeting with approximately 50 invited participants who will be grouped according to their interests for the purpose of identifying new pathways for biomechanics research and applications for the next 10 years.  Dr. Vorp will participate in the Organ-specific mechanics sub-field.

BioE graduate student, Timothy Maul who is conducting his dissertation research in Dr. David Vorp’s lab, has been invited by Provost Beeson to speak on behalf of all graduate and professional students at the Honor’s Convocation to be held Friday, February 23 in the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh Music Hall at 2:00 pm.  The Honor’s Convocation celebrates the accomplishments of the University’s faculty and students.  Part of the ceremony this year is a 2 minute commendation of Pitt graduate/professional students by Dr. Beeson followed by a 2 minute response from Tim.  The criteria for nomination/selection of a student speaker for the Honor’s Convocation are, “The person should be very accomplished; having received distinguished awards and/or fellowships, and should present his/herself well before an audience.”  Mr. Maul certainly fulfills all these criteria.

Dr. James Wang served as the Program Chair for the 25^th Scientific Conference Program of the Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine, January 10-13, 2007, Honolulu, Hawaii.  The papers from this meeting have been published in the journal, MCB: Molecular and Cellular Biomechanics, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2006.  Dr. Wang is the Guest Editor for this edition of MCB.

Dr. David Vorp has been invited to serve on the Editorial Board of the Annals of Vascular Surgery.  Dr. Vorp is the sole Ph.D. BioE to be so honored.  Dr. Vorp’s invitation to serve is recognition of his many, important contributions and innovations in vascular biomechanics research, both experimental and computational, highlighted by Dr. Vorp’s breakthrough work in AAA biomechanics.

Professor Tin-Kan Hung has been invited to serve on the International Advisory Committee for the 2007 Indo-Australian Workshop on CFD, which is being organized by the Department of Mathematics, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee INDIA to be held in April 2007.

The Board of Editors of SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine has selected Drs. Michael Sacks and William Wagner for inclusion in their 5th annual SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 50.  The award from SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN honors 50 individuals, teams, companies and other organizations whose accomplishments in research, business or policymaking during 2005 - 2006 demonstrate outstanding technological leadership.  Honorees are selected for their contributions to a wide variety of areas, such as biotechnology, microelectronics, energy and genetics.  Winners over the past several years have included Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google, research philanthropists, and Nobel prize-winning neurobiologists as just several examples. Drs. Sacks and Wagner are selected for their research contributions to the development of a novel biodegradable scaffold.

Gaurav Shukla's submission was selected for an AMA student section poster competition, Nov. 10th, 2006, at the AMA National Meeting.  Gaurav is conducting this work in Dr. George Stetten's lab.  G Shukla, B Wu, D Schwartzman, G Stetten.  The Sonic Penlight for Guidance of Superficial Subdermal Access.  American Medical Association-Medical Student Section Poster Competition, November 10th, 2006, Las Vegas, NV.

Professor Rory Cooper is the keynote speaker for the Governor’s conference on Employment of People with Disabilities, “It’s Simply Do-Able”.  The Conference will be held on Wednesday, October 4 @Greentree Radisson Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA.

BioE graduate student, Silvia Wognum won 2nd place in the Student Competition yesterday at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Engineering Science held at Penn State for her talk on bladder biomechanics.  SIivia is conducting this work in Professor Michael Sacks’ lab.

Professor Jack Patzer has been invited by the Liver Diseases Research Branch of NIDDK, in collaboration with the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the Acute Liver Failure (ALF) Study Group, to attend a two-day meeting on Acute Liver Failure, scheduled for December 4-5, 2006 in Bethesda.  Dr. Patzer will speak on the topic of “Issues in hepatitis assist devices for ALF.” 

Professor David Vorp has been invited to speak at the 33rd Annual VEITHSymposium, "Vascular and Endovascular Issues, Techniques, Horizons," which will be held November 15-18, 2006 at The Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City.  The VEITH Symposium has become THE premier vascular meeting in the country.  Dr. Vorp is one of only 5 non-physicians from among more than 200 invited faculty to the VEITH Symposium.  This invitation recognizes Dr. Vorp's many significant contributions to vascular medicine, and in particular Dr. Vorp's breakthrough work in the area of the biomechanics of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Professor Michael Sacks has been invited to serve as an ad hoc member of the Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Sciences (BTSS) Study Section for the October meeting.  Serving as an ad hoc member is a prelude to becoming a regular member of BTSS for a four year period.

Professor T.K. Hung has been honored in the Sigma Xi Center Honor Roll of Donors.  Dr. George Bugliarello made a donation to the Sigma Xi building fund in honor of Professor Hung.  As an FYI, Dr. Bugliarello is the former president of Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute which is now called Polytechnic University.  Dr. Bugliarello is also the founding chair, in the late 1960s, of biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, where Professor Hung began his distinguished academic career.

Professor Michael Sacks’ NIH competitive renewal application entitled, “Biomechanical Optimization of TE Heart Valves,” received a Priority Score: 126 and Percentile: 2.0 by the Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Sciences Study Section. This is a truly fantastic score and reflects Professor Sacks’ stature as an internationally recognized expert and leader in this discipline.

BioE graduate student, Eric Tom's American Heart Association Pre-doctoral Fellowship application entitled, "Non-Invasive Detection of Endothelial Dysfunction Using an Optimized Multitargeted Ultrasound Contrast Agent," has been awarded funding.  In addition and on the basis of his outstanding Fellowship application, Eric has been selected to receive the first Claude R. Joiner award, in honor of the inventor of echocardiography, who is also chair-emeritus of medicine at Allegheny General Hospital.  Eric is undertaking his research in the laboratories of Dr. William Wagner and Dr. Liza Villanueva (Presby Cardiology).

Dr. David Vorp has been invited to give a lecture entitled, “Biomechanical Determinants of Aortic Rupture,” in the session entitled, “Mechanisms of Aortic Disease,” at this year’s American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2006 in Chicago.

On May 3, 2006, Professor Savio Woo received the Life Sciences Award from the Carnegie Science Center Awards for Excellence.  Dr. Woo’s research has revolutionized the field of orthopedic biomechanics and has served as the foundation upon which many patients’ surgical management and rehabilitation protocols following various ligament and tendon injuries are currently based.

BioE’s graduating student Amy McNeal will deliver the keynote address at the School of Engineering Senior Recognition Night on April 29, 2006.  Amy is the 3^rd consecutive BioE student to deliver the keynote address.  Last April (2005), BioE graduating senior Jason Woods delivered the address; and this past December (fall graduation), BioE graduating senior Perry Tiberio delivered the keynote address.

Dr. Richard Debski has been awarded tenure and promoted to the rank of Associate Professor of Bioengineering, effective September 1, 2006.  In his letter to Dr. Debski the Chancellor writes, “The conferral of tenure provides clear evidence of the institutional respect earned by your academic work to date.  It is also an expression of our confidence that the years ahead will bring many additional accomplishments and contributions – to your discipline, to the University and to the broader community.”

BioE graduate student, Dan Freytes' F31 NRSA Ruth L. Kirschstein Pre-doctoral Fellowship application entitled, "Hybrid ECM Gels for Regenerative Medicine," received a 137 score - 4th percentile!  Dan is working in Dr. Stephan Badylak's lab.  Dan will be our 6th F31 Fellow, with two other applications hopefully to be funded by the end of the year. 

Poster winners at the recent 2006 MIRM RETREAT:

MARIAH HOUT – 1^st place, category A – 3D Expansion of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells in Four-Compartment Bioreactors (Mariah is completing a post-doctoral fellowship in Dr. Jorg Gerlach’s lab).

ALEXA POLK – Honorable Mention, category A - A Biohybrid Lung Prototype with Active Mixing and Oxygenation of Endothelialized Microporous Hollow Fibers (Alexa is a PhD candidate in Dr. William Wagner’s lab)

LORENZO SOLETTI – 1^st place, category B – In-vitro Assessment of a Biodegradable Electrospun Vascular Graft Surface-seeded with Muscle-derived Stem Cells and Subjected to Shear Stress (Lorenzo  is a PhD candidate in Dr. David Vorp’s lab)

JOLENE (HODGE) VALENTIN – Honorable Mention, category B - Host Response to Orthopaedic ECM Bioscaffolds (Jolene is a PhD candidate in Dr. Stephen Badylak’s lab)

MITRA LAVASANI – 1^st place, category C – Muscle-Derived Stem Cells Spontaneously Express Neuronal Markers In Vitro And Promote Peripheral Nerve Repair (Mitra is a PhD candidate in Dr. Johnny Huard’s lab)

TOM PAYNE – Honorable Mention, category C - Functional Repair of Infarcted Hearts Mediated by Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells and Their Secretion of VEGF (Tom is a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Johnny Huard’s lab)

BioE undergraduate student, Adam Iddriss has just been awarded a Truman Scholarship, one of the very most prestigious and competitive scholarships that an undergraduate can receive.  BioE extends our heartiest congratulations to Mr. Iddriss for this spectacular achievement!

The article below which is just published in the BIORHEOLOGY Journal includes a dedication to Professor Tin Kan Hung as follows:  “Dedicated to Dr. T. K. Hung, Professor of Civil and Bio-Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, USA,  for his sustained encouragement with computational biofluid dynamics research, since 2003, and his inspiring contributions to computational methods in biomechanics over four decades.” These very important words from international colleagues indicate the magnitude of Professor Tin Kan Hung’s life-long professional contributions to research and education.

BIORHEOLOGY Journal

Biorheology: Journal of the International Society of Biorheology

Editor-in-Chief:

Dr. Harry Goldsmith, Room C10-148, The Montréal General Hospital,
1650 Cedar Avenue, Montréal, Québec H3G 1A4, Canada.
E-mail: harry.goldsmith@mcgill.ca

March 2006

 QUASI-STEADY PULSATILE MAGNETO-HEMODYNAMIC FLOW AND MASS TRANSFER IN A NON-DARCIAN CHANNEL USING THE NAKAYAMA-SAWADA BIVISCOSITY MODEL:  FINITE ELEMENT SOLUTIONS

Tim Maul, a PhD candidate in Dr. David Vorp’s lab, is one of three University recipients of the 2006 Outstanding Graduate Student Award.  Tim will be traveling to Neumann College in March to give a 20 minute research presentation and receive the award. Tim as many outstanding contributions and many accomplishments including receiving an F-31 Ruth L Kirschstein NRSA Pre-doctoral Fellowship Award.

Dr. Richard Debski has been selected to receive a 2006 Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award.  In his letter to Dr. Debski, Chancellor Nordenberg writes, “You have distinguished yourself as a “young star” in the fields of musculoskeletal biomechanics and sports medicine through your fundamental work on the structure and function of the soft connective tissues at the shoulder joints.  It is a measure of your intellectual depth that you are widely recognized in the fields of experimental biomechanics, computational biomechanics, and robotic technology.  This status has been highlighted by the numerous awards that you have received.  However, it was formalized when the American Society for Mechanical Engineering awarded you its Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award, the most prestigious national award that a young scholar in your field can receive.”  This Award reflects Dr. Debski’s terrific accomplishments at the University.  This Award also reflects the truly outstanding mentoring Dr. Debski has received in his years at the University from Professor Woo, and the wonderful research and education opportunities available to Dr. Debski at the MSRC. 

Professor Savio Woo has been invited to be a Plenary Speaker at the 5^th World Congress of Biomechanics to be held from July 29 through August 4, 2006, in Munich, Germany.  The title of Professor Woo’s presentation is:  Biomechanics Research and Sports Medicine’s Future:  Meeting the Challenges of Keeping Your Knee and Shoulder Healthy.

Dr. James Antaki has been promoted from associate professor with tenure @CMU to full professor with tenure @CMU effective July 1, 2006.  Also, Dr. Antaki’s blood pump development (HeartQuest) will soon undergo its 1^st clinical trials in Europe.

George Engelmayr's abstract entitled, "Cyclic Flexure and Laminar Flow Synergistically Accelerate Mesenchymal Stem Cell Mediated Engineered Heart Valve Tissue Formation," was chosen for a Young Investigator Award at the 2006 International Society for Applied Cardiovascular Biology meeting which will take place March 8-11, 2006 in La Jolla, California.  George performed his Ph.D. research in Professor Michael Sacks' lab, is currently a post-doctoral fellow in the Langer Lab @MIT.

Professor Andrew Schaefer was recently awarded with an NSF Career Award.  Dr. Schafer’s research addresses next-generation therapeutic optimization, which involves constructing quantitative models of disease progression, and optimizing a particular set of therapies. Dr. Schaefer's work focuses on three broad areas in end-stage liver disease, but the research applies to other diseases as well.

Dr. George Stetten’s proposal entitled, “Applying the Sonic Flashlight to the Guidance of Breast Tumor Biopsy,” has been selected for funding from the patent research development fund in the Office of Technology Management (OTM).  This award represents OTM’s commitment to support as appropriate BioE-based technology development efforts such as Dr. Stetten’s sonic flashlight.

Professor Savio Woo received the 2005-2006 School of Engineering Board of Visitors Faculty Award.  In presenting the award to Professor Woo, Pitt Chairman of the Board of Trustees and CEO of US Steel, Mr. Tom Usher, lauded Professor Woo for his most productive academic year, including Professor Woo’s contributions to the development of BioE and our graduate research programs; the many meritorious awards that Professor Woo receives annually at the national and international level; Professor Woo’s exceptional funding and publication records; and overall leadership to BioE and the School of Engineering.  BioE takes considerable pride in the fact that Professor Woo is the 3^rd consecutive BioE faculty member to receive the School of Engineering Board of Visitors Faculty Award.  In 2003-2004 Professor Sanjeev Shroff was selected; and last year, 2004-2005, Professor Michael Sacks received the School of Engineering Board of Visitors Faculty Award.

 GRADUATE STUDENTS

 Cois, Aaron: Cardiovascular Bioengineering Training Program (CBTP) Fellow

 Coley, Brooke: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (F31) for research on adaptive postural strategies and the impact of aging

 Collins, Charita: Cellular Approaches to Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (CATER) Fellow

 Debrah, Dan: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (F31) for research on relaxin in systemic vascular mechanisms and function; First author, Relaxin increases cardiac output and reduces systemic arterial load in hypertensive rats in Hypertension

 DeFail, Alicia: Cellular Approaches to Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (CATER) Fellow

 Ding, Zhijie: Travel award to the 2005 American Society of Cell Biology to present Effects of silencing profilin on endothelial cytoskeleton and migration

 Dvorznak, Michael: First author, Kinematic analysis for determination of bioequivalence of a modified hybrid III test dummy and a wheelchair user in Journal of Rehabilitation and Development

 Eckert, Chad: Biomechanics in Regenerative Medicine (BiRM) Fellow; George M. Bevier Fellowship in recognition of excellent academic record

 El-Kurdi, Mohammed: Finalist in the ASME MS/PhD student thesis contest; 3^rd place in the ASME Bioengineering Division Master’s Student Paper Competition in Anaheim, CA for his paper entitled Regulation of cell adhesion and de-adhesion proteins in veins perfused under arterial conditions ex-vivo

 Engelmayr, George: Finalist in the PhD Student Paper Competition (Cells and Tissue Engineering Category) at the 2005 Summer Bioengineering Conference, Vail, Colorado; Student Travel an Professional Development Award from the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) to attend the SFB Annual Meeting in Memphis, TN.  Selection for this award was based on outstanding scores of Mr. Engelmayr’s abstract.

 Fisher, Matthew: Biomechanics in Regenerative Medicine (BiRM) Fellow for research on improving the healing of the patellar tendon after injury using functional tissue engineering techniques; George M. Bevier Fellowship in recognition of excellent academic record

 Gaitan, Diana: Fulbright Scholar from Colombia

 Gilbert, Thomas: Finalist for the 2005 Young Researchers of Orthopaedics, Biomechanics/Biology, Operative Techniques and Sports (Y-ROBOTS) Award

 Heise, Matthew: Cellular Approaches to Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (CATER) Fellow

 Impink, Bradley: IGERT Rehabilitative/Assistive Technology Award

 Johnson, Carl: 4-year Minority Graduate Research Supplement (MGRS) for research on pediatric circulatory support

 Kirk, Jonathan: Cardiovascular Bioengineering Training Program (CBTP) Fellow for research on compensatory effects on calcium handling in transgenic mice with altered myofilament function

 Kokai, Lauren: First author, The potential of adipose-derived adult stem cells as a source of neuronal progenitor cells in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

 Kuxhaus, Laurel: IGERT Rehabilitative/Assistive Technology Award

Lavasani, Mitra: Chosen by Chancellor Nordenberg as one of the outstanding students to whom the University will pay special tribute at the Honors Convocation on February 28, 2005; Abstract entitled Nerve growth factor increases transplantation efficiency of muscle-derived stem cells and significantly improves muscle regeneration in dystrophic muscle was chosen as a finalist for the Orthopaedic Research Society’s New Investigator Recognition Awards (NIRA) competition

 LaVerde, George: Second Place Poster, Neuroimaging Division, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 12^th Scientific Meeting

 Lee, Wen-Chi: First author, Registration of MR and CT images of the liver: comparison of voxel similarity and surface based registration algorithms in Comput Methods Programs Biomed

 Long, Rebecca: Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Delegate to attend the 55^th Annual Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students, Lindau, Germany

 Marascalco, Philip: 2004 ASAIO Biomedical Engineering Student Fellowship

 Marhefka, Joie: Fellowship recipient at the 51^st Annual ASAIIO Conference, Washington, DC

 Maul, Tim: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (F31); 2005 Outstanding Graduate Research Assistant

 Mercer, Jennifer: Paper entitled Effect of weight on wheelchair propulsion over various surfaces was selected for a Scientific Paper Award at the 2005 Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) Conference; National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship

 Merryman, David: American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship for research on the effects of local tissue stress on aortic valve interstitial cell phenotype and resulting synthetic functions

 Meszaros, Laura: George M. Bevier Fellowship in recognition of excellent academic record

 Mihelc, Kevin: George M. Bevier Fellowship in recognition of excellent academic record

 Moore, Susan: Finalist in the ASME MS/PhD student thesis contest; Orthopaedic Research Laboratory Alumni Council (ORLAC) Award; International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE), M.S. Level Finalist for Student Paper Competition, 2nd Place Prize; 2004 Engineering Graduate Student Organization’s Outstanding Research Assistant, University of Pittsburgh; 2005 Provost Development Fund Recipient 

Oberdier, Matt: Cardiovascular Bioengineering Training Program (CBTP) Fellow; George M. Bevier Fellowship in recognition of excellent academic record

 Park, Sung Hong: Poster Award (Honorable Mention) at ISMRM’s 13^th meeting

 Payne, Thomas: Young Investigator’s Award at the 2005 FASEB Summer Research Conference Skeletal Muscle Satellite and Stem Cells, Tucson, AZ.  Poster Presentation entitled Functional Repair of Infarcted Hearts Mediated by Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells and Their Secretion of VEGF

 Prantil, Rachelle: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (F31); McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine 3^rd Place Poster Winner; 3^rd Place Poster Winner, Annual Department of Pathology Retreat

 Ramaswami, Priya: Cellular Approaches to Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (CATER) Fellow; 2^nd Place Poster Winner, Annual Department of Pathology Retreat

 Rath, William: George M. Bevier Fellowship in recognition of excellent academic record

 Ruffner, Melanie: George M. Bevier Fellowship in recognition of excellent academic record

Santelices, Linda: 1^st Place, ASAIOI Paul S. Malchesky Fellowship Award; 3^rd Place, SHPE National Poster Competition at the Graduate Level; 3^rd Place, University of Pittsburgh Engineering Graduate Student Poster Competition

 Sellaro, Tiffany: Cellular Approaches to Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (CATER) Fellow

 Stauffer, William: Recipient of the 2004 Neural Prosthesis Travel Assistance Program for poster at the 2004 Neural Interface Workshop in Bethesda, MD entitled Effect of bioactive molecules immobilized in polypyrrole surfaces on neuronal cell attachment, differentiation, and growth

 Toosi, Kevin: Paper entitled Changes in the mechanical properties of the rat urinary bladder following long-term spinal cord injury was selected as one of the MS-level finalists for the Student Paper Competition at the Summer Bioengineering Conference sponsored by the ASME Bioengineering Division

 Uber, Bronwyn: Cardiovascular Bioengineering Training Program(CBTP) Fellow

 VanEpps, Scott: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Individual Predoctoral Fellows (F31) for research on coronary arterial dynamics and atherogenesis; NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship to honor outstanding athletes who intend to continue their academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree

 Wolf, Erik: First author, Vibration exposure of individuals using wheelchairs over concrete paver surfaces in Disability and Rehabilitation; Predoctoral Associated Health Rehabilitation Research Fellowship Program for academic year 2004 - 2005

 Wu, Sai Kit: George M. Bevier Fellowship in recognition of excellent academic record

 Yarnall, Megan: Paper entitled Wrist range of motion during lateral transfers among persons with paraplegia was selected for Honorable Mention at the 2005 Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) Conference

 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

 Anderson, Michael: Beckman Scholarship; Awarded for his academic excellence in bioengineering by being inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the Bioengineering Honors society

 Bechtold, Stephanie: 3^rd Place in the BS Student Paper competition at the 2004 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition

 Calano, Sarah: Awarded for her academic excellence in bioengineering by being inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the Bioengineering Honors society; Awarded a Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) grant by AEMB; Finalist in the BS-level Student Paper Competition for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Summer Bioengineering Conference 2005

 Callaghan, Michael: Awarded for his academic excellence in bioengineering by being inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the Bioengineering Honors society

 Iddriss, Adam: Awarded for his academic excellence in bioengineering by being inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the Bioengineering Honors society

 Malkiewicz, Andrew: Awarded for his academic excellence in bioengineering by being inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the Bioengineering Honors society

 McNeal, Amy: Awarded for her academic excellence in bioengineering by being inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the Bioengineering Honors society

 Moran, Sean: Druids’ Cathedral Fountain Scholarship Award

 Premraj, Senthil: Awarded for his academic excellence in bioengineering by being inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the Bioengineering Honors society

 Rowland, Richard: Awarded for his academic excellence in bioengineering by being inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the Bioengineering Honors society

 Shelly, Bryan: Awarded for his academic excellence in bioengineering by being inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the Bioengineering Honors society

 Wickwire, Alexis: Rita Schaffer Undergraduate Award from the University of Pittsburgh chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).  This award is given in honor of outstanding leadership and service in the BMES

Wyszomierski, Sarah: Awarded for her academic excellence in bioengineering by being inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Beta (AEMB), the Bioengineering Honors society

______________________

Eunji Cheong, who completed her BioE PhD in Professor Guy Salama’s lab, has published the following first author paper:  Eunji Cheong, Vassil Tumbev, Detcho Stoyanovsky, and Guy Salama: Effects of pO2 on the activation of skeletal muscle ryanodine receptors by NO: A cautionary note. Cell Calcium 38 (2005) 481–488

Professor Samjeev Shroff's competitive RO1 renewal with Dr. Kirk Conrad entitled, "Endogenous Relaxin Regulates Vascular Function in Males and Nonpregnant Females," received a fabulous Priority Score of 145, and Percentile of 9.5.

George Engelmayr's F32 (post-doctoral fellowship application) titled "Cell Adhesion and Guidance Motifs for Cardiac Grafts" received a priority score of 153, percentile 11.1%.  George is completing his PhD in Professor Michael Sacks' lab; the F32 is for George's post-doc position in the Langer lab @MIT.  George has truly been an exceptional graduate student in every academic measure imaginable. 

Professor David Vorp's July 1 NIH RO1 competing renewal application entitled "Biomechanical Evaluation of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm" received a priority score of 140 and percentile of 2.3!   Dr. Vorp's truly outstanding RO1 review reflects his recognized leadership in the field of AAA Biomechanics. 

Dr. Rakie Cham has been selected as the recipient of the 2004-2005 Robert O. Agbede Award for Diversity in the School of Engineering.  In his letter to Dr. Cham, Dean Gerald Holder writes “Your commitment to recruiting under-represented students into the School of Engineering has been outstanding.  Of particular note is your involvement in faculty mentoring of female Bioengineering students.  The committee was especially impressed with the level of involvement that you displayed with your students.  You are a key female role model in your department, and because of this you are encouraged to continue and grow in this outstanding capacity.” 

Dr. George Stetten has been reappointed to a Bicentennial Alumni Faculty Fellowship effective 9/1/2005.  The appointment is for two years.  In his letter to Dr. Stetten, Dean Holder writes “This appointment is in recognition of your outstanding productivity as a member of the faculty.  Further, it reflects the strong support of your faculty colleagues and Chairman.”

Professor Savio Woo has been honored with the “Grand Slam” of Bioengineering and orthopaedic awards and lectures: (1) Plenary Lecture: IEEE/EMBS, September 2004, followed by a repeat invitation to be a Theme Keynote Speaker in Shanghai, China, September, 2005. (2) Distinguished Guest Lecturer: The Herodicus Society (the elite society for orthopaedic sports medicine, only 98 members), July 2005  (3) BMES Distinguished Lecturer Award: Biomedical Society Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, September 2005  (4) Robert Henry Thurston Award: The American Society for Mechanical Engineers, November 2005.  Professor Woo has also received the following honorary memberships during the last fiscal year: (1) Arthroscopic Association of North America, (2) Society for Tennis Medicine (Professor Woo is the 1^st and only honorary member), (3) The Herodicus Society – “Godfather” (Professor Woo is the 1^st Ph.D. to receive this honor).

Scott VanEpps, who is working in Dr. David Vorp’s lab, was awarded a $5,000 post-graduate scholarship from the NCAA.   Scott was an intercollegiate swimmer during his undergraduate years at the University of Pittsburgh.

Zhijie Ding's application for a travel award to the summer meeting of 2005 American Society of Cell Biology has been selected for funding. Mr. Ding will present a paper entitled, "Effects of silencing profilin on endothelial cytoskeleton and migration."  Zhijie is conducting this work in Dr. Partha Roy's lab.

During the joint meeting of the International Society of Biorheology (ISB) and International Society for Clinical Hemorheology (ISCH) in Chongqing, China, May 31 - June 3, 2005, Professor Marina Kameneva was elected as a Member of Council and Treasurer of the International Society for Clinical Hemorheology.

Professor Rory Cooper was chosen to receive the EP Maxwell J. Schleifer Distinguished Service Award from Exceptional Parent Magazine. Exceptional Parent magazine and the Pittsburgh Pirates will honor Dr. Cooper for his efforts on behalf of the special needs community at PNC Park on Disability Awareness Night, Tuesday, July 19, 2005.

Dr. David Vorp has received the Notice of Grant Award from NIH for his new application entitled, "Bioengineering & Biologic Studies of Aneurysm Weakening".  Dr. Vorp received a truly stellar 5.9 percentile for this grant.

Professor Savio Woo has been selected to receive the 2005 Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).  This prestigious ASME award was established in 1925 to honor Robert Henry Thurston, the 1^st ASME President and is given annually to the person who best encourages stimulating thinking on a subject of broad technical interest to engineers.  Professor Woo will be honored at the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Conference in Orlando, this November, where he will deliver a lecture entitled, “Going from In Vitro to In Vivo: The New Big Challenges for Ligament and Tendon Biomechanics Research.”

Dr. Jun Liao, who is undertaking his research in Professor Michael Sacks’ lab, has received a prestigious Beginning Grant-in-Aid award from the American Heart Association (AHA) for the project entitled, “Effects of Decellularization and Recellularization on Porcine Aortic Valve Biomechanics.”  The AHA award is for the period 7/1/2005 – 6/30/2007.

Professor Mark Redfern was presented a Certificate of Achievement by the BioE undergraduate students in recognition of his outstanding achievements in teaching during Engineering Week.  Professor Redfern was also selected to the University of Pittsburgh 2005 Faculty Honor Roll.

Professor Michael Sacks received the annual Board of Visitors 2005 Faculty Award at the Board of Visitor’s Reception and Dinner on April 22, 2005.  The purpose of this award is to recognize faculty who have had a most productive previous academic year.  This is the 2^nd consecutive year that BioE faculty were selected for this award.  Last year’s 2004 Board of Visitors Faculty Award winner was Professor Sanjeev Shroff.

Jen Mercer in Dr. Michael Boninger’s lab and Megan Yarnall in Dr. Rory Cooper’s lab received prestigious awards at the 2005 Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) Conference.  Jen’s paper entitled, “Effect of Weight on Wheelchair Propulsion Over Various Surfaces,” was selected for a scientific paper award.  Megan received honorable mention for her paper entitled, “Wrist Range of Motion During Lateral Transfers Among Persons with Paraplegia.”

BioE Graduate student, George Engelmayr has been selected to receive a Student Travel and Professional Development Award from the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) to attend the SFB annual meeting in Memphis, TN in April 2005.  George’s selection for this award was based on the outstanding scores his submitted abstract received.  George is completing his Ph.D. in Professor Michael Sacks’ lab.

The membership of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA) has voted Professor Rory Cooper to become the first inductee into the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Hall of Fame in the category of "Assistive Technology." The SCI Hall of Fame has been created to celebrate and honor those individuals that have made significant contributions, to quality of life and advancements toward a better future for all individuals with spinal cord injury.  The SCI Hall of Fame celebration will be held on the Millennium Stage at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on May 9, 2005.

Professor Michael Sacks has been invited to speak at the “Fall 2005” Materials Research Society (MRS) at the following symposium: "Symposium on the Mechanical Behavior of Biological and Biomimetic Materials". This symposium will join together scientists and engineers in biomaterials and biomechanics, as well as clinicians in medicine and dentistry, to discuss the materials progress and challenges related to the mechanical behavior of biological and biomimetic materials.

BioE graduate  student, Scott VanEpps was informed that his priority score for his recent F31 NIH NRSA predoctoral fellowship application is 134.  What is even more impressive is that Scott will be the 3^rd BioE graduate student in Dr. David Vorp’s lab to receive NRSA funding (BioE graduate students, Timothy Maul and Rachelle Prantil also have received NRSA F31 awards).

Dr. Harvey Borovetz, Chair of Bioengineering has been invited to serve in the Advisory Committee of the Medical Engineering Division of National Health Research Institutes of the Republic of China (MED/NHRI, Taiwan) for a five-year term.

BioE graduate student, Rebecca Long, who is conducting her research in Professor Michael Sacks’ lab, has been selected to participate in a meeting with Nobel Laureates this June.  Rebecca was selected for support by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) to attend the meeting of Nobel Laureates in Lindau, Germany on the recommendation of Provost Klinzing.  The meeting is June 27 through July 2, 2005. This is a truly unique opportunity for Ms. Long to meet with fellow students and Nobel Laureates from around the world.  Rebecca is the second BioE graduate student to be selected for this program.

BioE Graduate student, Bronwyn Uber’s abstract entitled, “Systematic Decision Support for Optimal Management of PVAD Patients,” has been selected for consideration of an award by the Program Committee of the First International Conference on Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion.  A final decision will be made in April or May 2005.  Bronwyn is a student in Dr. James Antaki’s lab.

Achilles Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Research Award by the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine (ISAKOS). As a winner of the award, Dr. Rui Liang will attend the 2005 ISAKOS Biennial Congress in Hollywood, Florida to present her paper and receive a $3,000 honorarium and an award certificate. The full manuscript details are:  Rui Liang, Steven D. Abramowitch, Daniel K. Moon, Fengyan Jia, Savio L-Y. Woo: "A Bioscaffold Can nhance the Healing of the Medial Collateral Ligament: A Multidisciplinary Functional Tissue Engineering Study". Winner of ISAKOS Achilles Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Award.  Dr. Liang was supervised on this project by Drs. Savio Woo and Steven Abramowitch.  Dan Moon is a recent M.S. graduate of our Department of Bioengineering.

Recent noteworthy events for Professor Rory Cooper:  (1) Keynote Speaker, Posture and Mobility Group Conference, Exeter, England, April 2005.  (2)  Keynote Speaker, Rehabilitation Engineering Society of Japan, Saga, Japan, Sept., 2005.  (3) James J. Peters Lecture and Award.  This award is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to improving the lives of people with spinal cord injuries or disease. American Paraplegia Society, to be presented at their annual conference in Las Vegas, NV, Sept. 2005. The American Paraplegia Society is the oldest professional society of clinicians and researchers dedicated to the treatment, care, and cure of SCI/D.

Professor Savio Woo has been selected by Dr. Bruce Reider, President of the Herodicus Society, to be the "Distinguished Guest Speaker" for the 2005 annual meeting in Vail, Colorado in July. Dr. Woo will give two lectures, one on "Functional Tissue Engineering of Ligament Healing" and the other on "Robotic Technology on Knee Biomechanics and Ligament Forces."  The Herodicus Society is a private society that invites those physicians in sports medicine who are heavily involved in research, clinical teaching, and leadership for membership. It is considered a distinguished society for orthopaedic surgeons.

Dr. Jack Patzer has been invited to submit his manuscript entitled, “Bound Solute Dialysis,” to be included in a special issue of THERAPEUTIC APERESIS and DIALYSIS with the subject “Artificial Liver Support Systems” with focus on cell-free systems.  The journal is sponsored by the “International Society for Apheresis.”

Dr. Richard Schaub has been selected to receive the School of Engineering (SOE) Young Alumni Award at the SOE Distinguished Alumni Ceremony on March 16.  Dr. Schaub is only the 2nd alumnus to receive this prestigious award which was begun just last year.  He will be honored for his very significant contributions and innovations @ UPMCs clinical mechanical circulatory support (MCS) program, where Dr. Schaub has worked full-time since completing his Ph.D. in our Department of Bioengineering.  Dr. Schaub continues his close affiliation with BioE by directing the undergraduate and graduate clinical MCS internship programs which remain very popular with our students.

Professor Rory Cooper has been appointed as adjuct professor of Xi'an Jiaotong University, China, for 4 years. This important and prestigious appointment will promote collaboration between Xi'an Jiaotong University and University of Pittsburgh. 

A research honor was recently awarded to Professor Rory Cooper, which was written up in the Office of Research and Development, DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.  Rory A. Cooper, PhD, director of the VA National Center of Excellence on Wheelchairs and Associated Rehabilitation Engineering and a senior research biomedical engineer with the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, was presented the 2004 Excellence Award from the American Paraplegia Society. The award recognizes Dr. Cooper’s authority in the field of spinal cord health care, research, and education. Dr. Cooper, chair and professor of the department of rehabilitation science and technology, University of Pittsburgh, has been appointed as a Distinguished Professor of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, the highest honor the university confers on faculty. He specializes in wheelchair, rehabilitation engineering, and assistive technology research.

Professor Rory Cooper has been appointed as the first holder of the Federation of Independent School Alumnae Foundation (FISA) Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Chair for Rehabilitation Engineering, effective October 1, 2004.  In his letter to Professor Cooper. Chancellor Mark Nordenberg writes, "You have earned and richly deserve this special form of recognition and support.  It is a real pleasure and privilege for me to make this appointment."

Bioe Graduate student, Jonathan Grashow has taken a position as a Biomedical Test Engineer @Evaheart Medical USA, located here in Pittsburgh.  According to Jonathan’s superviser, he has "already solved problems and demonstrated great problem-solving skills."  Jonathan is completing his M.S. research in Dr. Michael Sacks' lab.

BioE was very well represented at the Heart Failure and Rotary Blood Pump Summit in Cleveland, OH. October 9-10.  Dr. James Antaki gave two presentations: "Pump Development in Pittsburgh" and  "Optimal Feedback Control of Turbodynamic VAD: Efficacy of Multi-Objective Tracking Algorithms".  Mark Gartner presented: "Modeling Flow in an Integrated Pump Oxygenator" and MS graduate Eric Chen (a former student in Professor Sanjeev Shroff's lab who is now employed by the FDA (CDRH)) was a panelist at the Symposium: Industry and Rotary Pump Trials.

Dr. Kacey Marra's research was highlighted by various news organizations.  Dr. Marra's work in nerve regeneration was highlighted in these reports: An international group of scientists met in Pittsburgh this week to discuss the potential of harvesting stem cells from liposuctioned fat.  According to the AP story, fat-derived stem cells have medical promise. Some researchers say the cells might someday provide replacement tissue for treating such conditions as Parkinson’s disease, heart attacks, heart failure, and bone defects. Researchers face no shortage of fat-derived stem cells because nearly 400,000 Americans have cosmetic liposuction done each year, the Post-Gazette reported. According to Kacey G. Marra, an assistant professor of plastic surgery and bioengineering and the director of Pitt’s Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory who also was quoted in the Post-Gazette story, “We get hundreds of millions of cells each week....We have people volunteering to donate every day.” 

Updates for Dr. James Wang: Arthritis Foundation:  NEW GRANTS: "Inflammatory reaction and apoptosis of tendon fibroblasts are responsible for tendinitis." -- PI, James H-C. Wang.  National Science Foundation: "An acoustic wave cytosensor system for living cell study"- Co-PI, James H-C. Wang.  INVITED TALK:  "Mechanobiology of tendon and ligament fibroblasts."  International Guest Lecture Series, National Center for Biomedical Engineering Science, National University of Ireland, 9/23/04.

Professor Savio Woo was one of two keynote speakers at the 250th Anniversary of Columbia University Symposium, "Biomedical Engineering: Past, Present Future," held on Sept 18 & 19.  The title of Dr. Woo's presentation was, "Biomechanics & Sports Injuries."  

Two BioE graduate students, Tim Maul, ("Influence of Mechanical Forces on Adult Progenitor Cells") and Rachelle Prantil, ("Biomechanics and Function of the Pathologic Urethra") have been awarded Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) pre-doctoral (F31) NIH fellowships.  Both Tim and Rachelle are Ph.D. candidates in Dr. David Vorp's lab.

Professor Michael Sacks has been appointed to a William Kepler Whiteford Professorship effective for four years beginning September 1, 2004.  In his letter to Professor Sacks Dean Holder (Dean of the Engineering School at Pitt) writes, "This appointment is in recognition of your outstanding productivity as a senior member of the faculty.  Further, it reflects the strong support of your faculty colleagues and chairman."  Dr. Sacks joins Professors Mark Redfern and Savio Woo as William Kepler Whiteford Professors in our Department.

Dr. George Stetten has been invited to speak at the National Library of Medicine Board of Regents Meeting, which is being held in September 2004 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the release of the Visible Human data set.  In celebration of this event, Dr. Stetten will deliver a lecture on his experiences working with the Visible Human data set and with the ITK software.

BioE baccalaureate, Anton Barnett, has accepted a job @UCLA Medical center in Perfusion Services.  Anton had previously attended the Shadyside Hospital Perfusion Program and worked for UPMC hospitals.  Anton also convinced quite a few of our undergraduate students over the years to pursue a similar career.

A number of our BioE students recently submitted for the F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein Individual NRSA Fellowships.  A few BioE students received excellent priority scores <200.  Hopefully all will be awarded funding.  Ex: Dan Debrah's NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein Individual Fellowship application entitled "Role of Relaxin in Systemic Vascular Mechanics and Function" received a priority score of 124 and a percentile of 0.9!  This is truly an outstanding accomplishment for both Dan and his adviser, Professor Sanjeev Shroff.

The application below, in which Dr. Rakie Cham is providing biomechanics expertise, has been funded by the Veterans Administration.  The P.I. is Dr. N. Bohnen who is also a collaborator on Dr. Cham's recent P.I. NIH RO1 application.  "Neurobiological and Postural Control Mechanisms underlying Risk of Falling"  Period 4/04-3/0.  This project is designed to evaluate neurobiological and postural control mechanisms underlying imbalance and risk of falling in elderly veterans.  The overarching goal of this project is to examine the degree to which age-associated striatal dopaminergic denervation (AASDD), as measured by in vivo striatal dopamine transporter PET neuroimaging, is associated with impaired postural reserve capacity and increased risk of falling in otherwise normal elderly.  A second goal is to study the interaction between the presence of AASDD and specific risk factors for falling in the elderly, such as neuropathy or leukoaraiosis. Gait and slip analysis will be performed as well as a prospective assessment on the risk of falling during a 6-month follow-up diary study.

BioE baccalaureate graduate Anika Joseph has been awarded a graduate fellowship from the NSF-funded Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems Engineering Research Center (BMES ERC) at the University of Southern California to pursue the Master of Science in Medical Device and  Diagnostic Engineering.  According to Dr. Michael Khoo, Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California, Ms. Joseph's selection as a BMES ERC fellowship awardee was based on "her credentials and the program belief that she will make substantial contributions towards enhancing the quality of academic and student life at USC, and specifically, the BMES ERC community."

Dr. Xinyan Tracy Cui's application entitled, "Effect of Surface Characteristics and Electrical Stimulation to Neural Stem Cell Attachment, Growth and Differentiation," has been funded through the School of Medicine CMRF Program.  The CMRF Program is highly competitive which speaks very well to the high quality of Dr. Cui's proposed research.

See the attached URL which announces Dr. Alan Russell's award for his nerve agent detection sensor technology.  http://www.postgazette.com/pg/04175/336373.stm

BioE graduate students Linda Santelices and Martin Tabaksblat were selected as Paul Malchesky Student Abstract Awardee Finalists at this week's 50th annual meeting of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs.  The title of Linda’s abstract is: "Mobile Decision Support System For Management Of LVAD Patients" .  The title of Martin's abstract is: "Towards The Development Of A Computer Simulator For Left Ventricular Recovery".  Linda and Martin both working in Dr. James Antaki's lab.

Professor Leaf Huang received this year's Alec D Bangham MD FRS Achievement Award during the Liposome Research Days Conference held in May 2004. This is the highest honor in the liposome field.  The award citation is as follows:  "The Alec D. Bangham, MD, FRS Achievement Award recognizes an outstanding scientist who has profoundly contributed to the progress of the liposome field. This is a lifetime achievement award that will be bestowed onto liposome scientists who are renowned leaders and have a highly productive and illustrious history of research, publication and teaching in the liposome field." 

Stephanie Bechtold, an undergraduate BioE student researcher at the MSRC, has been selected as one of six finalists for the Bachelor's Level Student Paper Competition at the upcoming IMECE/ASME meeting. Stephanie’s paper is entitled "Repeatability of Establishing Anatomical Coordinate Systems and the Initial Configuration of the Knee".   Stephanie is our 1st undergraduate student to be so honored.

Professor Savio Woo has been elected an Honorary Member of the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA).  It is almost unprecedented for AANA to bestow honorary membership on a Ph.D. scientist.  This is a special category that is defined in AANA bylaws as follows:  "An individual who, through a past demonstration of dedication and interest is, in the opinion of the Board of Directors, worthy of special recognition, shall be granted an honorary membership in the Association".

Dr. Rory Cooper was appointed by Chancellor Mark Nordenberg as a Distinguished Professor of the University of Pittsburgh in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, effective April 1, 2004.   This is the first such appointment of a faculty member in the history of our School.   As noted by Chancellor Nordenberg in his letter announcing Rory's appointment  "... The appointment of a faculty member to a Distinguished Professorship is the highest honor that the University of Pittsburgh can accord a member of its professoriate."

Three BioE faculty were inducted as AIMBE College of Fellows (Class 2004).   David Brienza: For contributions in rehabilitation engineering leading to a better understanding of soft tissue biomechanics and the prevention of pressure sores.  Art Ciarkowski: For outstanding and dedicated service towards the development of safe and effective cardiovascular devices for improved patient care.  Michael Sacks: For outstanding contributions to the understanding of the quantitative structure-mechanical properties of native, biologically derived and engineered soft tissues.

BioE graduate student, Ms. Karin Corsi, was selected by the Provost's Office as the graduate student representative at this Friday's Honors Convocation.  Ms. Corsi will make the response for all graduate and professional students honored at the Honors Convocation, after their achievements are recognized in the ceremony.  Ms. Corsi is doing her Ph.D. research in Dr. Johnny Huard's lab.

BioE graduate student, Linda Santelices was awarded 2nd place in the poster competition of the national meeting of the Hispanic Society of Hispanic Engineers.  Ms. Santelices' poster is entitled: "Mobile Decision Support System for Treatment of LVAD Patients."  Authors are: Santelices LC, Antaki JF, Dew MA, Holm MB, Kormos RL, Mathier MA, Simaan MA.  Ms. Santelices is performing her research in Dr. James Antaki's lab.

Rachelle Prantil, a BioE graduate student in Dr. David Vorp's lab, is also one of six finalists (along with Susan Moore) for the ASME 2003 M.S. Student Research Award. Rachelle will present her research entitled: "Effects of Diabetes Mellitus On the Biomechanical Properties Of the Female Rat Urethra In the Passive State"  Authors:  Rachelle L. Prantil, Ronald J. Jankowski, Ph.D., Kazumasa Torimoto, M.D., William C. de Groat, Ph.D., Michael B. Chancellor, M.D., David A. Vorp, Ph.D.  Again this year, our BioE Dept has 2 of the 6 finalists for this prestigious ASME award.

MSRC graduate student, Susan Moore, is one of six finalists for the ASME 2003 M.S. Student Research Award.  Susan will present her research entitled:

Reproducing the Motion of a Diarthrodial Joint during a Clinical Examination using Robotic Technology" , Authors:  Susan M. Moore, Maribeth Thomas, Mary T. Gabriel, Jennifer Zeminski, Savio L-Y. Woo, Richard E. Debski.

Susan Moore is our most recent BioE graduate student to be so honored.  In recent years, our graduate students have competed successfully for both the M.S. and Ph.D. Student Research Awards.

The Magnuson Award which is the highest award given by the VA for Rehabilitation Research and Development, includes a $5,000 cash prize and $150,000 for research and development support.  It is given "In recognition of Outstanding Rehabilitation Research Dedicated to Seeking New Knowledge To Benefit the Nation's Veterans".

(1) Fluid-structure simulation for prosthetic heart valves, NIH RO1 (NHLBI), July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2007.  The goal of this project (between U Iowa and Pitt) is to develop a comprehensive solid-fluid coupled model of the native and bioprosthetic heart valve.

(2) "Functional Tissue Engineering for Stress Incontinence," NIH RO1, May 1, 2003 through November 30, 2008.  The goal of this project at Pitt is to develop organized, functional tissue engineered repair biomaterials for urinary incontinence. 

3) "Biocompatible Heterograph Biomaterials," NIH RO1, August 1, 2003 through July 31, 2008.  The goal of this project (between Children's Hospital of PA and Pitt) is to develop and evaluate novel heterograft biomaterials for bioprosthesthetic heart valves.

Outstanding Biosystems Student: Brian Wessel

Outstanding Biotechnology Student: Christina Sander

Outstanding Biomechanics Student: Stephanie Coquia (Also the Fung award winner)

Outstanding BioE Student for 2002:  Brian Wessel