UNC/NCSU Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering

BME Founding Chair, Dr. Troy Nagle, Receives NC State’s Highest Honor, the Holladay Medal

The North Carolina State University Board of Trustees will award the Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence to three faculty members in recognition of their outstanding careers at NC State. Dr. Troy Nagle, Founding Chair of the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, will be one of the recipients. The Holladay Medal is the highest honor bestowed on a faculty member by North Carolina State University and its trustees and it recognizes the contributions of faculty members in teaching, research and service. Winners receive a medal and a framed certificate, and their names are inscribed on a plaque in the NC State Faculty Senate chambers. This year's other honorees also have connections to BME; Drs. Raymond E. Fornes, professor of physics and associate dean for research in the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences; and Nino A. Masnari, Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dean of Engineering during the forming of the Joint Department. Dr. Nagle was especially cited for his 23 years of teaching, research and dedicated service to NC State; and his role as founding chair of the joint NC State-UNC Chapel Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering, leading the development of the first joint department in the UNC system. The medals will be presented during the university's Honors Baccalaureate and Celebration of Academic Excellence, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, in the McKimmon Center. BME’s faculty, students, staff, and affiliates of all types congratulate Dr. Nagle for receiving NC State’s most prestigious award!

BME core faculty member, Dr. Caterina Gallippi, Reappointed for a Three-Year Tenure-Track Term

BME is very pleased to announce that Dr. Caterina Gallippi’s reappointment at the rank of Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was approved by the Board of Trustees, effective February 1, 2009, for a three-year tenure-track term. BME congratulates Dr. Gallippi on the confidence expressed by her colleagues and UNC-Chapel Hill in this action. In his letter, Chancellor James Moeser congratulated Caterina and extended his warmest best wishes for her continued success and fulfillment as a member of the BME faculty. BME joins the Chancellor and congratulates Dr. Gallippi for achieving this positive milestone in her early career.

BME core faculty member, Dr. Peter Mente, Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure

In recognition of his accomplishments in teaching and research, I am happy to announce that, effective August 16, 2008, BME core faculty member, Dr. Peter Mente, is being promoted to Associate Professor with tenure! Please join me in congratulating Peter on achieving these important milestones and wish him success as he continues his progress towards promotion to the rank of Professor. BME congratulates Dr. Mente on this notable achievement.

BME core faculty member, Dr. Roger Narayan, Receives the NCSU Sigma Xi Chapter Faculty Research Award for 2008

BME core faculty member, Dr. Roger Narayan, has received the North Carolina State University Sigma Xi Chapter Faculty Research Award for 2008. Dr. Narayan was nominated by Dr. Hans Stadelmaier (Professor Emeritus Material Science Engineering). The Faculty Research Awards Committee of the chapter, chaired by Dr. Charlie Smith (Associate Professor Statistics; Former Director of Biomathematics Graduate Program), reviewed nominations and selected Roger to be the single recipient of the award this year. Dr. Narayan and his nominator, Dr. Stadelmaier, have also been invited to attend the chapter's Annual Awards Banquet and Initiation Ceremony on Tuesday April 22 at the McKimmon Center. Congratulations Roger for receiving this prestigious award!

Dr. Hatice Ozturk Selected to Receive NC State’s George H. Blessis Undergraduate Advising Award

BME core faculty member, Dr. Hatice Ozturk, has been selected to receive North Carolina State University’s George H. Blessis Undergraduate Advising Award. Dr. Ozturk’s nomination for the Blessis award was submitted by the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering through the principal efforts of Dr. Roger Narayan and Dr. Lianne Cartee. News of this award was conveyed to Dr. Ozturk by Dr. Richard F. Keltie, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Dean Keltie reported that the selection committee consisted of faculty colleagues as well as students and all were impressed with Hatice’s dedication to student success as demonstrated through her advising activities. He continued that “This is a very nice, and very well-deserved, recognition and I thank you for all that you do to benefit our students.” This award will be presented at the Spring Faculty Meeting on May 7. Congratulations to Dr. Ozturk for receiving this prestigious award!

BME core faculty member, Dr. Roger Narayan, Named Editor-in-Chief of Materials Science and Engineering C

BME core faculty member, Dr. Roger Narayan, has been named Editor-in-Chief of Materials Science and Engineering C. Starting with Volume 28, Elsevier is relaunching Materials Science and Engineering C: with a new subtitle: Materials for Biological Applications. The relaunched journal will now include experimental and theoretical topics at the interface of the biological sciences and materials engineering, including: biomimetic materials; biological materials; nanobiomaterials; bio-based materials; biopolymers; materials for biotechnology applications; materials for bioenergy applications; biocompatible materials; and bioceramics. Congratulations Roger for this prestigious posting!

NC State Senior Selected for Prestigious Jackson Laboratory Summer Student Program

Bar Harbor, Maine —NC State senior Cheryl Zapata will have the opportunity to conduct cutting-edge biomedical research and work with world-renowned geneticists this summer through the historic Summer Student Program at The Jackson Laboratory. Cheryl was selected from a pool of close to 400 applicants to take part in the program for qualified undergraduates and high school students, and will join two Nobel laureates as an alumna of the program.

Over the next 10 weeks Cheryl will carry out an independent research project under the guidance of Associate Staff Scientist Joel Graber Ph.D. Graber’s lab is currently investigating gene deserts—large strings of genetic code that don’t code for specific traits but seem to have other significance.

Cheryl is a double major in biomedical engineering and applied mathematics and will begin her senior year in the fall. Cheryl said she hopes to use her experiences at The Jackson Laboratory to gain experience in computational biology.

In addition to conducting research and working closely with Jackson Laboratory scientists, Cheryl will get to interact with students from across the country who share her passion for science. The 31 college and high school students will be living together at Highseas, a Jackson Laboratory residence overlooking Frenchman Bay .

For 83 years, The Summer Students Program at the Jackson Laboratory has given high school and college students the chance to conduct biological research and develop laboratory skills. Eighty percent of the program’s more than 2,200 alumni have gone on to careers in medicine or biomedical research.

The Summer Student Program also boasts two Nobel Prize wining alumni, Drs. David Baltimore and Howard Temin, who shared the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

The nonprofit Jackson Laboratory, with a research staff of more than 450, investigates the genetic basis of cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, glaucoma, diabetes, and many other human diseases and disorders as well as normal mammalian development and aging. The laboratory is also the world’s source for nearly 3,000 strains of genetically defined mice, home of the Mouse Genome Database and many other publicly available information resources, and an international hub for scientific courses, conferences, training and education.