BME core faculty member Caterina Gallippi awarded a TraCS $50k Grant

BME core faculty member, Dr. Caterina Gallippi, has been awarded a TraCS $50k grant from the UNC Chapel Hill based North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute.  This project will be led by Dr. Gallippi and her collaborators will be:  Dr. Wui Kheong Chong from UNC-CH’s Department of Radiology; and Dr. Randal Detwiler from UNC-CH’s Department of Medicine.  This support is for a project titled “ARFI Ultrasound for Noninvasive, In Vivo Assessment of Renal Transplant.”  Their project will start shortly, will run for up to a year; and be funded on the order of $50,000.  As per the design of the NC TraCS $50K awards, BME will provide half the funding for this project.  Congratulations Caterina and her team for receiving such a strong endorsement and support from the new NC TraCS Institute!

BME Graduate Student, Shaun Gittard, awarded American Ceramic Society Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) Sapphire Award

Shaun Gittard, one of BME's PhD students being advised by Roger Narayan, was selected for the American Ceramic Society Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) Sapphire Award at the American Ceramic Society Annual Meeting last week in Pittsburgh. The Annual Graduate Excellence in Materials Science (GEMS) awards to recognize the outstanding achievements of graduate students in Materials Science and Engineering.

BME Affiliate, Dr. Morgan Giddings, co-awarded NIH ARRA Grant

BME affiliate faculty member Dr. Morgan Giddings, along with collaborator Dr. Xian Chen, has been awarded an NIH ARRA grant.  Dr. Giddings, based in UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of Microbiology & Immunology, is the lead/contact Principal Investigator for the project, and Dr. Chen, with UNC-Chapel Hill Biochemistry, is Co-PI on the award.  The purpose of the award is to generate, manage, analyze and disseminate large scale data sets for protein-based annotation of the human genome.  Working in concert with other investigators in the ENCODE (ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements) Dr. Giddings’ team will be working to produce a complete map of the genes on the human genome, that can be used to address a variety of human disease states.  This exciting project will receive $1.6 million over its two year project period.  The Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering congratulates Morgan for winning this competitive award!

BME Affiliate Faculty Member, Dr. Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, Awarded NIH R01 Grant

BME affiliate Faculty Member, Dr. Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, has been awarded a NIH R01 grant.  This funding was obtained as part of the competitive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act award programs.  This support is for a project titled “Comparative In Vivo Biodistribution of Characterized Manufactured Nanomaterials.”  Dr. Monteiro-Riviere will collaborate with NC State’s Jim Riviere, Xin Xia, Keith Linder, and Kyle Mathews.  The objective of this project is to characterize the physicochemical interactions between manufactured carbon nanomaterials and biological systems by conducting in vivo absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination studies of 14C fullerenes in rats and pigs.  This project will be funded at $658,367 total costs for the whole of its two year project period.  The Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering congratulates Nancy for winning this competitive award!

Welcome Anka Veleva!

This month, Dr. Anka Veleva joins BME as a Research Associate Professor for a five-year term.  She comes to us from our College of Engineering's department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.  Anka's research interests are:  Protein and biomolecular engineering; Cell-specific targeting for therapeutic angiogenesis and vasculogenesis; Artificial blood vessels; and Blood-material interactions.   She is currently located in Engineering Bldg I; I-054.

Please welcome Anka into our Joint Department!

Welcome Greg Sawicki!

This August, Dr. Greg Sawicki joins BME as a new tenure-track Assistant Professor.  Greg's speciality is rehabilitation.  He will be establishing a new gait laboratory in EB-III when we take occupancy next summer.  For the next year, his office and lab will be located in the College of Textiles on the NCSU Centennial Campus.

Please welcome Greg into our Joint Department!

BME Graduate Student Rachel Clipp receives Fall 2009 Mentored Teaching Assistantship from COE

Good news! BME Graduate Student Rachel Clipp has been selected to receive the Fall 2009 Mentored Teaching Assistantship from the College of Engeineering! Congratulations to Rachel and Dr. Steele.

BME Graduate Student Ryan McCulloch receives Fall 2009 Mentored Teaching Assistantship from COE

More Good news! BME Graduate Student Ryan McCulloch has been selected to receive a Fall 2009 Mentored Teaching Assistantship from the College of Engeineering! Congratulations to Ryan and Dr. Mente!

BME Core Faculty Member, Dr. Caterina Gallippi, Awarded Five Year NIH R01 Grant

BME core faculty member, Dr. Caterina Gallippi, has been awarded a five year NIH R01 grant.  This funding mechanism and duration of award is the premier configuration of support NIH provides to independent investigators.  This support is for a project titled “ARFI ultrasound for noninvasive, Diagnostic atherosclerosis imaging.”  Dr. Gallippi will collaborate with Dr. Tim Nichols (Pathology & Lab Medicine); Dr. Hongtu Zhu (Biostatistics); Dr. Souvik Sen (Neurology); Dr. Cam Patterson (Medicine); and Dr. Matthew Mauro (Radiology).  The objectives of this project are to demonstrate a novel ultrasound imaging technology - Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) ultrasound – for improved diagnosis of atherosclerotic plaques and stroke risk.  This project will be funded at $250,000 direct costs per year for each of its five years.  The Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering heartily congratulates Caterina for achieving this substantial professional accomplishment!

BME core faculty member Marian McCord co-awarded a TraCS $10k Grant

BME core faculty member, Dr. Marian McCord, has been co-awarded a TraCS $10k grant from the UNC Chapel Hill based North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute.  This project will be led by Dr. Melanie Joy from UNC-CH’s Department of Medicine, School of Medicine.  This support is for a project titled “Textile Based Phosphate Adsorption; an Application in Hemodialysis.”  NC TraCS was pleased to inform Drs. Joy and McCord that their application was one of only 8 chosen in this round for funding.   Their project will start shortly, will run for up to a year; and be funded on the order of $10,000.  Congratulations Marian for receiving such a strong endorsement and support from the new NC TraCS Institute!

BME core faculty member Marian McCord co-awarded NC State’s FRPD Multi-Investigator Grant

BME core faculty member, Dr. Marian McCord, has been co-awarded NC State’s Faculty Research Professional Development (FRPD) Multi-Investigator Grant.  Her collaborators are Dr. Mike Roe and Dr. Hoon Joo Lee.  The project is titled “Reversing the Lotus Effect: A New Insecticidal Strategy.”  The aim is to disrupt the mosquito cuticle with surfactants by transfer of a surfactant from a textile substrate to the insect’s legs and body via interactions that occur as the mosquito attempts to bite through protective fabric.   This disables the mosquito’s ability to walk/stand on water which is critical to its life cycle.  Their ultimate goal is to develop new non-toxic insecticidal strategies for use in bednets and insecticidal clothing.   The project started on July 1st 2009, will run for up to a year; and be funded up to $20,000.  Congratulations to Marian and her collaborators for their on-going success on the worthy project!

BME core faculty member, Dr. Roger Narayan, Conferred Tenure at the rank of Professor in BME, College of Engineering

The Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering is happy to announce that, effective August 16, 2009, the North Carolina State University Board of Trustees has approved conferral of tenure at the rank of Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering to BME core faculty member, Dr. Roger Narayan.  This milestone marks both a move in home base from the School of Medicine to the College of Engineering and a professional advancement in recognition of his accomplishments in teaching and research.  Please join in saluting Roger on achieving this important milestone and wish him success as he continues his professional progress at his new base in COE.  BME seconds NC State Chancellor James Woodward in congratulating Dr. Narayan "on this professional recognition" and in looking forward to his "valuable contributions to NC State."

BME Graduate Student, Carla Haslauer, Receives "Best Paper" award from NC State's Non-Wovens Cooperative Research Center's Industrial Advisory Board

BME Graduate Student, Carla Haslauer, won the "Best Paper" award at the May 2009 meeting of NC State's Non-Wovens Cooperative Research Center's (NCRC) Industrial Advisory Board (IAB).  Carla's NCRC project is lead by BME core faculty member Dr. Elizabeth Loboa and is titled "Hollow Fiber Nonwoven Structures with Interconnected Pore Configuration".  This award is made on the basis of voting by all 72 NCRC member companies.  Carla was among 4 finalists and tied for the highest number of votes from the IAB companies.  She will receive a plaque from the Chair of the Executive Committee at the next IAB meeting.  Let's all congratulate Carla for a great job.

Article: www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/story/5167437/    Video: www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/video/5169639/

Research Triangle Park, NC

Bioengineering students at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill unveiled projects designed to help patients in a show at Research Triangle Park this week.

NC State students began their projects by visiting and asking questions of clinicians at WakeMed.

"(They asked) What are your biggest problems? What takes you the most time? What costs you the most money? What gives you the biggest headache?" said Andrew Dimeo, a professor of biomedical design at NC State.

From students' research came Mr. Freeze, a training simulator for inducing hypothermia in sudden cardiac arrest patients. Another device helps elderly or disabled patients get safely into a bathtub. A different device lets patients slide from a mattress on a table into an MRI scanner, so no one needs to lift them.

The seniors work through the whole process of identifying a problem, designing a solution, building a prototype, testing and marketing. They must meet the federal Food and Drug Administration's quality regulations as if they were working for a real-world medical device company.

"Every year, they come up with something that we would have never suspected," Dimeo said.

WakeMed matches students teams with different departments and sponsors their projects. The hope, Dimeo said, is that each year there will be a few projects worthy of getting patents and developing further so they come into use for patients.

"It's just a real good opportunity for us to not only support work force development but to see life improve for our patients," said Susan Jackson, vice president and chief learning officer at WakeMed.

Reporter: Allen Mask, M.D. www.wral.com/rs/bio/1013384/

BME Undergraduates selected as finalists for the national Student Design Competition sponsored by RESNA

Two APPL/BME student groups have been selected as finalists for the national Student Design Competition sponsored by RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America) for their senior design projects. Bo Xiao and Kevin D'Auria were selected for their project titled “Locker Assist Device;” A device to help a girl with Cerebral Palsy to transfer books in and out of her locker at middle school.  Frances Low was selected for her project titled “Custom Tricycle Braking System;” this is for a teenage girl with Cerebral Palsy who cannot access conventional hand brakes on her adult tricycle.  These modifications to the braking system allow her to independently control the brakes.  The students will receive a trip to the RESNA conference next month in New Orleans, where they will give both oral and poster presentations.  Final judging will take place during the conference, and 5 winning groups will be selected.  Since starting participation in 2002, APPL/BME undergraduate students have been very successful in this national competition.  These students have been selected as finalists for 7 out of the 8 years, and winners for 5 of those years.  Congratulations and good luck to Bo, Kevin, and Frances!

BME Affiliate, Dr. Morgan Giddings, awarded NIH RO1 Grant

BME affiliate faculty member, Dr. Morgan Giddings, has been awarded an NIH RO1 grant.  The funded research project is titled "Developing Proteogenomic Mapping for Human Genome Annotation." The project aims to develop software methods for speeding up human genome annotation using proteomic data sets.  The goal is to find new genes, new alternative splice forms, and determine which transcripts are translated and when.  Dr. Giddings, based at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of Microbiology & Immunology, is the Principal Investigator for the project.  Dr. Giddings’ project started April 10th 2009, runs for three years; and is funded at $450,000 per year.

BME's Core Facility Managers, Stefan Ufer and Susan Bernacki, Receive Long Term Service Awards

BME's Biomedical Microsensors Laboratory (BMMSL) manager Stefan Ufer reaches his 10th year of service to North Carolina State University this spring; and BME's Cell Mechanics Laboratory (CML) Manager Dr. Susan Bernacki reaches her 5th year of service as well.  Achieving these milestones make Susan eligible to receive her 5-year service award and Stefan eligible to receive his 10-year service award from NC State. Stefan helped establish the BMMSL with BME Chair Dr. Troy Nagle originally in Electrical and Computer Engineering where it grew into a busy service center for the university and local industry; he then helped move this Clean Room space with BME to Burlington.  Dr. Bernacki helped establish the CML with BME core faculty Dr. Elizabeth Loboa where they do extensive training of and research with students; she also helped move this Clean Room space with BME to Burlington.  Please join me in thanking Stefan and Susan for their long, faithful, and valuable service to the University, Department, faculty, staff, and students.

BME Based Collaborative Group's Poster Wins First Prize in the Area of MR Spectroscopy at International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Conference

A group comprised of BME Core and affiliate faculty along with their Post Docs and graduate students won first prize for their co-authored poster in the area of Magnetic Resonance (MR) spectroscopy.  Project mentor Jeff Macdonald reports from six time zones away "This is a huge honor as this is the main international conference for MRI-based radiologists…with over 5,100 attendees."  The poster's presenter was laboratory technician Bryce Johnson.  The poster presented project results from a collaboration between BME faculty Mike Gamcsik, Haakil Lee, and Jeff Macdonald; and Cell and Dev. Biology faculty Dr. E. L. Homahomadav (who led a BME funded Research Initiation Project that helped support this group's success).  The poster is titled "Detection of serine isotopomers as a measure of mitochondrial function" and the full authorship is:  C.B. Johnson, A. Tikunov, P. Pediaditakis, D.A. Romney, E.L. Holmuhamedov, H. Lee, M.P. Gamcsik, and J.M. Macdonald.

BME congratulates this great interdisciplinary group's exceptional achievement!

BME Seniors Anna Godwin and Jennifer Puetzer Win College of Engineering Awards NC State Banquet

Two BME Senior Undergraduates were awarded College of Engineering Awards at the 2009 COE Awards Banquet.  The COE Award for Citizenship and Service went to Anna Godwin.  A COE Award for Scholarly Achievement went to Jennifer Puetzer.  Congratulations to BME’s outstanding student awardees!

BME Core Faculty Member, Dr. Caterina Gallippi, awarded the Center for Women's Health Research Award for Excellence

BME Core Faculty Member, Dr. Caterina Gallippi, was awarded the Center for Women's Health Research Award for Excellence at the 10th Annual Women's Health Research Conference.  The $2,000 award is to be used to further Dr. Gallippi's research and academic interests in the area of women's health.  The funds will be administered by UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for Women's Health Research.  Please join BME in applauding Caterina for receiving this prestigious award!

BME core faculty member, Dr. Elizabeth Loboa, Promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure

In recognition of her accomplishments in teaching and research, I am happy to announce that, effective August 16, 2009, BME core faculty member, Dr. Elizabeth Loboa, is being promoted to Associate Professor with tenure!  Please join me in saluting Elizabeth on achieving these important milestones and wish her success as she continues her progress towards promotion to the rank of Professor.  BME seconds NC State Chancellor James Oblinger in congratulating Dr. Loboa “on this significant professional recognition” and in looking forward to her “continued contributions to NC State.”

BME Core Faculty, Elizabeth Loboa, a Recipient of the Faculty Research Award from the NC State Chapter of Sigma Xi

BME core faculty member, Dr. Elizabeth Loboa, has been named a recipient of the 2009 Faculty Research Award from the NC State Chapter of Sigma Xi. Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi is a scientific research society founded in 1886, has more than 500 chapters worldwide, and aims to promote original research and its role in human progress.  The Faculty Research Award honors early-career faculty who have shown excellence in their research specialization. Nominees must be in their first five years of their first tenure-track position to be eligible for the award.  Dr. Loboa was recognized for her outstanding work in the areas of Biomechanics, Cytomechanics, and Functional Tissue Engineering.  She will be honored at the NC State Chapter's annual spring banquet and awards ceremony on Wednesday April 22, 2009 at the McKimmon Center. This event will mark the 50th anniversary of this award. Congratulations to Elizabeth for receiving this most prestigious award in recognition of her research success!

BME Undergraduate Student, Nicole Lewis, a winner in the NCSU Undergraduate Research Symposium

Nicole Lewis was selected as one of the winners in the North Carolina State University Undergraduate Research Symposium.  Nicole is an undergraduate major in the Biomedical Engineering Department and works with BME affiliate faculty member Dr. Stefan Seelecke on a jointly funded stent project.  She presented a poster titled “Development of an In-situ Video-Based Monitoring System for Stent Deformation and Migration Mechanisms” and won in the Engineering and Technology section.  More information abut this event and Nicole's achievement can be found at:     http://www.ncsu.edu/ugrs/2009_Spring/winners.htm

BME congratulates both Dr. Seelecke and Nicole for their success!

Three BME Graduate Students Receive NSF Fellowships!

Congratulations to BME's three Graduate Student NSF Fellows:

Josephine Bodle (Advisor: Elizabeth Loboa)
Ryan Gessner (Advisor: Paul Dayton)
Amy West (Advisor: Richard Goldberg)

For 2009, 950 GRFP Fellowships were awarded and the Joint Department at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University is well represented among our peers in Engineering - Bioengineering and Biomedical.  Josie, Ryan, and Amy will begin their 2nd year in the joint program in 2009-2010.  All three students attended the Finding Funding Workshops held as part of BME Orientation at the beginning of the Fall 2008 semester.  Many thanks to GRFP recipient Matt Berginski who headed up the student- led workshop as well as current NSF Fellows Carla Haslauer and Meghan Hegarty  and others in the joint department who provided their assistance to the awardees. We look forward to the excellent research to follow!

BME Core Faculty Member Paul Dayton awarded a University Cancer Research Fund Innovation Award

BME core faculty member, Dr. Paul Dayton, has been awarded an Innovation Award from the University Cancer Research Fund (UCRF).  The University Cancer Research Fund's mission is to save lives and reduce suffering from cancer in North Carolina and beyond through:  discovering better understanding the causes and course of cancer; using new knowledge to create new and better ways to prevent, find, and treat cancer; and improving cancer care, screening, and prevention across the state.  The UCRF Oversight Committee and Innovation Award Review Panel evaluated 55 proposals and Dr. Dayton's proposal was one of 12 chosen for funding.  The project is titled “Novel 3-D Contrast Ultrasound Imaging Assessment of the Role of pRB and PTEN Alterations in a Murine Prostate Cancer Model.”  This project begins April 1, 2009, is expected to run for 2 years, and be funded up to a total amount of $175,000.  Congratulations Paul for receiving support from this important North Carolina initiative!

BME Core Faculty Member, Dr. Paul Dayton, co-awarded NIH Shared Instrumentation (S10) Grant

BME core faculty member, Dr. Paul Dayton, has been co-awarded a NIH Shared Instrumentation (S10) grant.  This proposal is for an ultra-high-speed microscopy imaging system for analysis of ultrasound contrast agents in response to microsecond-bursts of ultrasound.  The project is led by John Hossack at the University of Virginia, with Paul Dayton as a co-PI.  This high speed microscopy imaging system will one of only about 4 such resources in the United States, and will share time between the University of Virginia and UNC-Chapel Hill.  This project is expected to be funded up to a total amount of $494,800.  Congratulations Paul for receiving substantial support for this exciting research infrastructure!

BME core faculty member Marian McCord awarded a National Textiles Center (NTC) Grant

BME core faculty member, Dr. Marian McCord, has been awarded a National Textiles Center (NTC) grant.  This project was a special funding interest to NTC because Medical Textiles is a priority area for NTC and NC State.  This support is for a project titled “Challenges in Advanced Nanofiber Wound Dressings.”  The focus of this collaborative project will be to compare and contrast material properties pre and post plasma treatment.  The reviewers noted that the anticipated enhanced properties of plasma treated materials may have broad applications that could prove valuable over the long range.  Dr. McCord's project will start shortly, will run for up to three years; and be funded on the order of $100,000.  Congratulations Marian for receiving such a strong endorsement and support from the National Textiles Center!

Nine NC State Incoming Undergraduate Park Scholars Intend to be BME Majors

BME is pleased to report that 9 of 55 (>16%) of NC State's incoming undergraduate Park Scholars intend to be BME majors.  This also represents 9 of 24 (37.5%) of all Engineering inclined Park scholars; making BME by far the most targeted among the Engineering departments.  The Park Scholarships program is among America's most prestigious undergraduate merit scholarship programs.  The Park Scholarships program provides opportunity for exceptionally talented and well-prepared college bound students to develop leadership skills and commitment to public service. The program awards approximately 50 scholarships per year, with two-thirds of the awards made to North Carolina residents, to exceptional high school seniors for undergraduate study in any discipline at NC State based on four criteria:  scholarship, leadership, service, and character.  The award is a four-year scholarship valued at $75,000 in-state and $130,000 out-of-state, including tuition & fees, room & board, books & supplies, travel, and personal expenses.  Please join me in welcoming this outstanding group of future BME majors!

BME core faculty member Peter Mente Selected by NC State's Office of the Provost to Receive an Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Award

BME core faculty member, Dr. Peter Mente, has been selected by North Carolina State University's Office of the Provost to Receive an Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Award.  This award is one of the most prestigious undergraduate awards given by NC State.  Dr. Mente was one of six recipients chosen from an outstanding group of nominees (all required to be members of the Academy of Outstanding Teachers) for this well deserved recognition.  He will retain the title while appointed as a member of the NC State faculty. A monetary award will be presented to each recipient at the Alumni Dinner.  Recognition of the award recipients will be given at commencement, the Honors Baccalaureate and Celebration of Academic Excellence, and the Celebration of Teaching and Learning.  Congratulations to Dr. Mente for receiving this most prestigious award in recognition of his dedication to the teaching mission of our home institutions!

BME Core Faculty Member, Dr. Paul Dayton, awarded NIH R01 Grant

BME core faculty member, Dr. Paul Dayton, has been awarded a NIH R01 grant.  This support is for a project titled “Precision engineering of ultrasonically-targeted drug delivery vehicles.”  Dr. Dayton will collaborate with Dr. Abraham Lee of the University of California, Irvine’s Department of Biomedical Engineering.  This project is expected to run for three years and be funded up to a total amount of $1,065,457 over the entire project period.  Congratulations Paul for receiving such substantial support for his exciting new project from NIH’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging And Bioengineering!

BME Student, Jared Sims, awarded a NC TraC$10K Pilot Program Grant

BME Ph.D. student, Jared Sims, has been awarded a NC TraC$10K Pilot Program grant from the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute (NC TraCS Institute).  Jared's project will be mentored by BME core faculty member Dr. Stephen Knisley.  The funded research project is titled “Electrocardiographic guidance of RF abalation therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation.”  Jared's award will provide $10,000 to support meeting this project's aims.  Fifty-five applications were received from eight UNC-Chapel Hill Schools and other UNC System campuses, and nineteen were chosen for funding.  Awardees include investigators from the UNC CH Schools of Arts and Sciences, Dentistry, Journalism, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health, Social Work and Elizabeth City State University.  Congratulations to Jared for this achievement and the wonderful endorsement from UNC's newest high profile Institute!

BME Core Faculty Member Paul Dayton awarded Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Pilot Grant

BME core faculty member, Dr. Paul Dayton, has been awarded a Pilot Grant from UNC-Chapel Hill's Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (C-CCNE).  The C-CCNE Pilot Grants Program mission is to fund quality science that incorporates nanotechnology in a significant way for the translation of cancer research to the patient.  The C-CCNE Center Steering Committee evaluated 12 pilot grant proposals and Dr. Dayton's proposal was one of two chosen for funding.  The project is titled “Design and testing of a novel acoustically-active nanoparticle vehicle for ultrasound-targeted chemotherapy.”  This project is expected to run for 12 months and be funded up to a total amount of $50,000.  Congratulations Paul for receiving support from this important UNC-Chapel Hill center!

BME core faculty member David Lalush Selected by College Teaching and Advising Awards Committee to Receive an Outstanding Teacher Award

BME core faculty member, Dr. David Lalush, has been selected by North Carolina State University's College of Engineering Teaching and Advising Awards Committee to Receive an Outstanding Teacher Award.  Dr. Lalush was chosen from an outstanding group of nominees for this well deserved recognition.  Dr. Jerome P. Lavelle, NC State Engineering's Associate Dean in the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, wrote to David to express that “This is a testament to your dedication and excellence in classroom instruction.  You are to be congratulated; and I join the committee, your peers and nominator, and the entire college in recognizing you as an outstanding teacher.”  By the College of Engineering selection Dr. Lalush is now a member of NC State's Academy of Outstanding Teachers and will be recognized at the College of Engineering Spring Faculty Meeting, the Honors Baccalaureate and Celebration of Academic Excellence, and the Celebration of Teaching and Learning.  Congratulations to Dr. Lalush for receiving this prestigious award in recognition of his dedication to the teaching mission of the College!

BME Core Faculty, Dr. Richard Goldberg, Promoted to Research Associate Professor

BME is very pleased to announce Dr. Richard Goldberg's promotion and appointment to the rank of Research Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Dr. Goldberg also holds the rank of Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies in the Curriculum in Applied Math and Material Sciences of the College of Arts and Sciences.  Dr. Goldberg was informed by letter from UNC-Chapel Hill Provost Bernadette Gray-Little.  BME joins the Provost and congratulates Dr. Goldberg for achieving this positive milestone in his career.

BME Affiliate, Dr. Morgan Giddings, Promoted to Associate Professor with Permanent Tenure

In recognition of her accomplishments in teaching and research, I am happy to announce that with the approval of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees BME affiliate faculty member Dr. Morgan Giddings is being promoted on January 15, 2009 to the rank of Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and the Department of Biomedical Engineering.  This promotion confers permanent tenure.  Please join me in congratulating Morgan on achieving these important milestones and wish her success as she continues her progress towards promotion to the rank of Professor.  BME congratulates Dr. Giddings on this notable achievement.