Valerie Tutwiler, PhD candidate in BIOMED (Advisors: K. Spiller and J. Weisel, UPenn), received a prestigious American Heart Association (AHA) 2-year $52K Predoctoral Fellowship for her research titled, “Blood Clot Contraction: Relation to Cell Stiffness and Fibrinolysis.”

Adam Craig, PhD student in BIOMED (Advisor: U. Hershberg), received a $24K 1-year David L. Boren Fellowship for overseas study at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Boren Fellows represent a vital pool of highly motivated individuals who wish to work in the federal national security arena. In exchange for funding, Boren Fellows commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.

Drs. Karen Moxon, professor and associate director for research in BIOMED (PI), and John Bethea (CoAS – Co-PI), received a 5-year mult-PI $3M NIH R01 grant for the project titled “Enhancing Supraspinal Plasticity to Improve Functional Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury.” It is becoming increasingly evident that plasticity within supraspinal networks, induced by therapeutic interventions, is necessary for optimal recovery of function after spinal cord injury.

Chau Dang, undergraduate student in BIOMED, with a concentration in biomaterials and tissue engineering, received a 2016 Drexel University Cooperative Education Award for her co-op with Amicus Therapeutics, a biotechnology company where she examined the stability of a lipid molecule that's important in the study of Gaucher's disease, which affects many of the body’s organs and tissues.

Dr. Hasan Ayaz, research associate professor in BIOMED, co-authored an original research article titled "Into The Wild: Neuroergonomic Differentiation of Hand-Held and Augmented Reality Wearable Displays During Outdoor Navigation with Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy" that was accepted for publication in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (Co-authors: R. Mckendrick, R. Parasuraman, R. Murtza, A. Formwalt, W. Baccus, and M. Paczynski).

Dr. Margaret Wheatley, John M. Reid Professor in BIOMED, was quoted in an April 21, 2016 Philadelphia Inquirer story about her experience as a former postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Robert S. Langer, a drug delivery pioneer and recipient of the 2016 Franklin Medal in the Life Sciences.

Rebecca Kitchmire (Advisor: M. Wheatley), Danika Meldrum (Advisor: M. Wheatley), Shubhra Rastogi (Advisor: K. Spiller), and Bhavani Singh (Advisor: K. Spiller), were selected as 2016 BIOMED STAR Scholars.

Manyah Kohli, BS student in BIOMED, Gabriela Hernandez-Meza, PhD student in BIOMED (Advisor: K. Izzetoglu), and Daryl Omire-Mayor, PhD student in BIOMED (Advisor: K. Pourrezaei), each received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellowship to attend the 15th International Summer School on Biocomplexity, Biodesign and Bioinnovation: from Gene to System, in Izmir, Turkey, from June 24–30, 2016.

Carli Moorehead, BS/MS student in BIOMED and MSE (Advisor: M. Marcolongo), received a two-year $7.5K Goldwater Scholarship for her work on biomimetic tissue regeneration and repair scaffolds. Carli began her research path as a STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) Scholar in the Cellular Biomechanics Lab in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, and extended her STAR work to achieve SuperNova Undergraduate Research Fellow status.

Amanda Pentecost, dual PhD candidate in MSE and MS in BIOMED (Advisors: Y. Gogotsi and K. Spiller), was awarded a 2016 Whitaker International Fellowship to conduct research with Dr. Kwangmeyung Kim in the Center for Theragnosis at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in Seoul, South Korea. Amanda's dissertation research focuses on using theranostic nanoparticles to increase the effectiveness of a common anti-inflammatory drug, dexamethasone, in preventing fibrous capsule formation and isolation of an implanted biomaterial.

Hassaan Pasha Sheikh, BS student in BIOMED, and Nohra Murad, BS/MS student in BIOMED (Advisor: A. Throckmorton), were named to the Provost's inaugural Dragon'24 Student Advisory Group. The group consists of 24 student leaders representing the best and brightest from the diversity of programs, backgrounds, and cultures present at Drexel, with the goal of developing an initial charter and devising a specific set of activities for the first two years of the group.

Dhairya Pujara, MS Biomedical Engineering ’12 and founder CEO at Ycenter; Michael Gormley, PhD Biomedical Engineering ’08 and principal scientist at Janssen Research and Development; and Dalia El-Sherif, PhD Biomedical Science ’03 and founder, Daylan Consulting Group, were all named to the 2016 Drexel '40 under 40', the annual compendium of Drexel’s most innovative, impressive and inspiring young alumni.

The following faculty in BIOMED are 2016 Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement (CURE) Program grant awardees:

Alper Bozkurt, alumnus in BIOMED (MS '04), assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State University, received a $500K 5-year Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the project titled "Bio-electro-photonic Microsystem Interfaces for Small Animals."

Dr. Peter A. Lewin, Richard B. Beard Distinguished University Professor and Director, Biomedical Ultrasound Research and Education Center, was invited to be the Luminary Speaker and Moderator for the Therapeutic Ultrasound Scientific Session at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) Annual Convention in New York, March 16-21, 2016. The Luminary Lecture presentation is considered to be a substantial professional acknowledgement and is on a topic of Dr. Lewin's choosing, and it recognizes his contributions to the field of biomedical ultrasound. The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine represents globally over 9,000 physicians, scientists, students, sonographers, and other healthcare providers. The annual convention serves as a platform to advance both diagnostic and therapeutic applications of ultrasound.

Nohra Murad, BS/MS student in BIOMED (Advisor: A. Throckmorton), a former STAR student, presented her research and poster titled "New Right Ventricular Assist Device with Magnetic Suspension for Pediatric Patients" at the National Collegiate Research Conference (NCRC), hosted by the Harvard College Undergraduate Research Association (HCURA), held at Harvard University January 21–23, 2016. The results of Nohra's research support the continued development in Dr. Amy Throckmorton's BioCirc Lab of a new blood pump for patients with right-sided heart failure.

Dr. Donald McEachron, teaching professor in BIOMED, gave an invited talk titled "We All Got Rhythms but Can We All Stay in Synch?" at the IEEE Philadelphia Section Night Meeting, held January 19, 2016 at the Sheraton University City, Philadelphia, PA.

Dr. Sorin Siegler, alumnus in BIOMED (PhD '82), professor in MEM, and Mary Milone, alumna in BIOMED (BS '07; MS '10), product development engineer at Merit Medical Systems, Inc., co-invented "Cervical Spine Protection Apparatus and Methods of Use."

Dr. Kara Spiller, assistant professor in BIOMED, received a 5-year $2M NIH R01 grant for the project titled "Understanding and Controlling Macrophage Behavior in Angiogenesis." The project's goal is to better understand the relationship between the body’s natural healing process and tissue regeneration and to develop a drug delivery strategy to grow blood vessels using immune system cells called macrophages. Dr. Spiller and her project were featured in a January 5, 2016 DrexelNOW story titled "Harnessing the Body’s Immune System to Heal Wounds Naturally."

Dr. Meltem Izzetoglu, research assistant professor in BIOMED, was quoted in a January 1, 2016 PsychCentral.com story about Parkinsonian patients and measuring their brain activity in real-time, in a realistic setting.