Medical, Engineering Schools Launch New Lecture Series

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Northwestern Medical School, Engineering School Launch New Lecture Series

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the McCormick School of Engineering have launched a new lecture series, the Dean’s Grand Challenge Lecture Series in Medicine and Engineering. This series of six lectures brings together medical and engineering faculty members to catalyze interdisciplinary collaboration.

“By aligning researchers and practitioners from the fields of medicine and engineering, we can find fertile new research areas that may have greater impact than either of these groups working alone,” says J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, vice president for medical affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean of the Feinberg School of Medicine. “We hope collaborative activities such as the Grand Challenge Lecture Series enable an environment that fosters teamwork, interdisciplinary research and highly innovative work.”

The 2009–10 inaugural season spans topics ranging from neurobiology and nanomechanics to cell-based therapies for heart disease, oncofertility and more. Events will take place on the Chicago and Evanston campuses and will include a lecture, Q&A, and a post-event reception hosted by the NUCATS Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute that is intended to further collaborative discussions. The lectures are free and open to all members of the Northwestern community.

Two lectures kick off the series, one on each campus:

  • Mitra Hartmann, associate professor of biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, will speak on “Tactile Sensing with Whiskers” at 4 p.m. Thursday, November 19 in the Hughes Auditorium, Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center, Chicago campus.

  • Douglas W. Losordo, director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Eileen M. Foell Professor of Heart Research, will present “Cell-based Therapies for Heart and Vascular Disease” at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 2 in the ITW Classroom, Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center, Evanston campus.