The First Joint Research Symposium under the auspices of the recently established Academic Alliance between Drexel University and Thomas Jefferson University will be held on Jefferson campus Saturday, May 16. It will take place in Solis-Cohen Auditorium in Jefferson Alumni Hall, 1020 Locust Street, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The program will consist of presentations by scientists from both institutions describing their research. The presenters will include the first winners of the Joint Research Seed Grants. Members of senior administration from both Universities will also discuss the aims of the Academic Alliance.
The Seed-Grant Program was established by the Presidents of the two Universities to promote interaction between faculty members at Drexel and Jefferson. A total of 14 applications were received on the first round, each involving one or more faculty members from each University. The winners will be announced shortly.
The Whitaker Foundation has awarded a Special Opportunity
($1 million) grant to the Academic Alliance to further the
development of a new biomedical engineering curriculum jointly by
Drexel and Jefferson. The curriculum development focuses on
biomedical imaging and optics with focus on biosensing, imaging
and information processing. The principal Jefferson participants
are Barry B. Goldberg, MD, Professor of Radiology and Director,
Division of Ultrasound, And Rocky Tuan, PhD, Professor of
Orthopaedic Surgery, and Vice Chairman and Director of Research
of the Department. He is also Professor of Biochemistry and
Molecular Pharmacology.
"The National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and many private foundations such as the Whitaker Foundation have greatly increased their support for biomedical engineering. By combining faculty strengths through the Academic Alliance, Drexel and Jefferson now have access to funding for which neither institution alone would be competitive," observes Jussi J. Saukkonen, MD, Dean of College of Graduate Studies, who serves as the principal Jefferson liaison in the Alliance