The A. C. Suhren Lecture Series is made possible by an endowed fund that allows Tulane University's Department of Biomedical Engineering to educate the university community about current issues in our field. The series speakers are pre-eminent in their disciplines, and their affiliation with the University through the Suhren Lectures has helped Tulane to enhance its reputation in Biomedical Engineering.
Marty Pagel
“Molecular Imaging of the Tumor Microenvironment”
Professor in the Departments of Cancer Systems
Imaging and Imaging Physics
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Linda G. Griffith, Ph.D.
“Deconstructing and Reconstructing the Endometriosis/Adenomyosis Patient”
School of Engineering Professor of Teaching Innovation
Departments of Biological and Mechanical Engineering
Director, Center for Gynepathology Research
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michael I. Miller, Ph.D.
"Molecular Computational Anatomy: From Euler to Dirac"
Bessie Darling Massey Professor and Director,
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Co-Director, Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Whiting School of Engineering
Previous Lectures
Donald P. Gaver, Ph.D.
"Biomedical Engineering as a Team Sport: Reflections on Rebuilding from Katrina to the Present"
Alden J. 'Doc' Laborde Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Tulane University
Gerard A. Ateshian, Ph.D.
"Cartilage Tissue Engineering and Damage Mechanics Using Reactive Mixture Theory"
Andrew Walz Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Columbia University
Lihong Wang, Ph.D.
"World’s Deepest-Penetration and Fastest Optical Cameras: Photoacoustic Tomography and Compressed Ultrafast Photography"
Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering
California Institute of Technology
Kenneth Lutchen, Ph.D.
"An Integrated Path for Creating an Asthmatic Lung" and "Challenges, Opportunities and Value for BME, Engineering and Higher Education"
Dean of the College of Engineering
Boston University
Kimberly Foster, Ph.D.
"Microelectromechanical Systems and their Role in Biomedical Discovery"
Dean of Science and Engineering
Tulane University
Tulane Biomedical Engineering celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2017. A three-day celebration included a gala at the Audubon Tea Room on November 2, 2017 where Steve Gleason was the featured speaker. Steve Gleason, a former New Orleans Saint, is remembered for his blocked punt at the reopening of the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. Gleason spoke about his battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and the importance of biomedical engineering in his life.
Steve Gleason, MBA
Team Gleason
Read the Speech
Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Ph.D.
“Developing Health Innovations Beyond Traditional Borders"
Malcolm Gillis University Professor
Professor of Bioengineering
Rice University
Jeff Weiss, Ph.D.
"Interaction of Angiogenic Microvessels with the Extracellular Matrix"
Professor of Bioengineering
University of Utah
Cedric F. Walker, Ph.D., P.E.
Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tulane since 1977
Morteza Gharib, Ph.D
Hans W. Liepmann Professor of Aeronautics & Bio-Inspired Engineering
Vice Provost for Research
California Institute of Technology
This Symposium honored Professor David Rice, who is retiring in June after 31 years as an esteemed member of our faculty. Professor Rice has been teaching Team Design for the last twenty years. In that time he has shepherded our students through the design process as they have conceptualized, designed, constructed and delivered devices to individuals with disabilities in the New Orleans community. Former students and colleagues who are actively involved in the design process and design education spoke at the Symposium.
Z. Maria Oden, Ph.D.
“What is the point of engineering design classes?”
Professor in the Practice of Engineering Department of Bioengineering, Rice University
Stephanie Kute, Ph.D. BSE, MSE
“Medical Device Industry: It’s a JUNGLE Out There”
BSE, MSE in Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University
Ph.D. in Bioengineering from University of Pittsburgh
PMP Certified
Kay C. Dee, Ph.D. & Glen A. Livesay, Ph.D.
“Closing the Loop in Engineering Design”
Kay C. Dee, Ph.D. – Professor of Applied Biology and Biomedical Engineering, and the Founding Director of the Center for the Practice and Scholarship of Education at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Glen A. Livesay, Ph.D. – Professor of Applied Biology and Biomedical Engineering, and served as the inaugural designee of the Samuel F. Hulbert Endowed Chair in Biomedical Engineering at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
George A. Truskey, Ph.D.
“Engineering Endothelial Progenitor Cells for Vascular Repair”
Professor and Chair, Biomedical Engineering
Duke University
Steven Badylak, Ph.D.
University of Pittsburgh
Semahat Demir, Ph.D.
“Research Funding in Biomedical Engineering”
Program Director, Biomedical Engineering
National Science Foundation
Klaus Ley, MD
"Molecular Mechanisms of Atherosclerosis, Biomechanics of Leukocyte Adhesion"
Head, Division of Inflammation Biology
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology
David Kaplan, Ph.D.
"Bioengineered Fibrous Proteins for Regenerative Medicine"
Professor and Chairman of Biomedical Engineering
Tufts University
Sasha Popel, Ph.D.
"Systems Biology of Angiogenesis: To Grow or not to Grow"
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Jay D. Humphrey, Ph.D.
"Vascular Adaptation and Mechanical Homeostasis Across Scales"
Carolyn S. & Tommie E. Lohman Professor and M.E. DeBakey Institute Fellow
Texas A&M Department of Biomedical Engineering
Shu Chien, M.D. Ph.D.
"Mechanotransduction in Endothelial Cells: Role of Stress Direction"
University Professor of Bioengineering and Medicine of the UC System Director of UC System-wide Bioengineering Institute in California
University of California, San Diego
William C. Van Buskirk, Ph.D.
"History of Engineering at Tulane University"
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
New Jersey Institute of Technology Founding Chair (1977-1991)
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University
Dean (1991-1998) School of Engineering, Tulane University
Frank C-P Yin, M.D. / Ph.D.
"Specificity and Sensitivity of Endothelial Cell Responses to Mechanical Stimuli"
Stephen F. and Camilla Brauer Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Chairman, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Washington University in St. Louis
Samuel F. Hulbert, Ph.D.
"The Status of Artificial Organs"
President of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Former Dean of Tulane School of Engineering (1973-1976)
Timothy Wright, Ph.D.
"The Evaluation of Wear in Total Knee Replacements – An Integrated Approach"
Professor of Applied Biomechanics in Surgery, Cornell University Medical Center, New York
Director of the Department of Biomechanics & Biomaterials, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York
Co-Editor, Journal of Orthopaedic Research Professor
Jeffrey Fredberg
"Are we built of glass? Soft science, living cells, and mechanics of the cytoskeleton"
Professor of Bioengineering and Physiology
Harvard, University, Boston, Massachusetts
Frank C-P Yin, M.D. / Ph.D.
" What We Can Learn By Poking Around Soft Tissue?"
Stephen F. and Camilla Brauer Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Chairman, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Washington University in St. Louis
Roger D. Kamm, Ph.D.
"Biological Nano-Mechanics: From Cells to Proteins"
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Associate Director, Center for Biomedical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Sheldon Weinbaum, Ph.D.
"Mechanotransduction and Strain Amplification in Cells with Microvilli and Cell Processes"
CUNY Distinguished Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Director, New York Center for Biomedical Engineering
The City College of the City University of New York
Dr. Robert L. Spilker
"Functional Tissue Engineering: The Role of Computational Methods in Assessing Mechanical Function in Soft Hydrated Tissues"
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
Dr. John P. Wikswo
"A Multiscale View of Cardiac Electrodynamics"
Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee
Dr. Douglas A. Lauffenburger
"Cell Engineering: Fundamental Approaches and Therapeutic Applications"
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Van C. Mow
"Constitutive Modeling of Charged-Hydrated Soft Biological Tissues"
Columbia University
Dr. Richard M. Felder
"The View from the Tightrope: Finding Balance in Higher Education"
North Carolina State University
Dr. Farshid Guilak
"Cellular Mechanics in Articular Cartilage"
Duke University
Co-sponsored by Graduate School Student Association.
Dr. Donald L. Bartel
"Statically Based Optimal Design of Nonlinear Bone-Implant Systems"
Cornell University
Dr. Rena Bizios
"Frontiers of Cellular Engineering"
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Dr. Igor Efimov
"Virtual Electrodes and Phase Singularity Mechanisms of Defibrillation"
Case Western Reserve University
Co-sponsored by Graduate School Student Association
Dr. Yoram Rudy
Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Peter F. Davies
University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Larry L. Smarr
"The New Computational Infrastructure"
Director, NCSA (National Computational Science Alliance)
Dr. Dennis R. Carter
"Mechanobiological Factors Regulating Skeletal Development"
Stanford University
Dr. Peter Hunter
"Modeling the Electro-Mechanics of the Heart"
University of Auckland, New Zealand
Dr. Don M. Tucker
"Applications of Electroencephalography (EEG) in Medical and Cognitive Science"
University of Oregon and Electrical Geodesics, Inc.
Dr. Stephen C. Cowin
"The Mechanics of the Mechanosensory System in Bone"
City University of New York
Dr. Raymond E. Ideker
University of Alabama, Birmingham
"Cardiac Pacing, Induction of Fibrillation, and Defibrillation: Why are the Electric Field Requirements so Different?"
Dr. Richard B. Silberstein
Swinburne University of Technology Melbourne, Australia
"Cognitive Studies and Neocortical Dynamics: An Overview of Engineering and Physical Methods Applied to Brain Evoked Potentials"
Dr. John D. Enderle
Program Director, National Science Foundation Washington DC
"The NSF's Biomedical Engineering Program"
Dr. Dwight T. Davy
Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, Ohio
"The Nonlinear Mechanical Behavior of Cortical Bone"
Dr. Bruce R. Simon
Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering University of Arizona
"Poroelastic Finite Element Models for Soft Tissue Structures"
Dr. Robert Nerem
Chairman of Biomedical Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
"Tissue Engineering"
Dr. Roger Barr
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
"Difrancesco – Noble Model of Cardiac Cells"
Dr. Gerald F. Harris
Department of Biomedical Engineering Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
"Description of Three-Dimensional Bone and Joint Kinematics Using a Non-Invasive Imaging Technique"
Dr. James B. Grotberg
Professor of Biomedical Engineering Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
"Capillary-Elastic Instabilities of Liquid-Lined Flexible Tubes: A Model of Pulmonary Airway Closure"
Dr. Christopher R. Johnson
Department of Computer Science University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
"Forward and Inverse Calculations in Electrocardiography"
Dr. Alfred R. Potvin
Director of Medical Devices and Diagnostics Division
Eli Lilly & Company
"Dynamics of the Medical Device Industry"
Dr. Max Anliker
Director, Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Medical Informatics
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland
"New Perspectives in Biomedical Engineering"
Dr. Peter Katona
Vice President Whitaker Foundation, Washington, DC
"Automated Control of Drug Infusion: Promises and Problems"
Professor Charles Steele
Department of Mechanical Engineering Stanford University, Stanford, California
"The Mechanics of Hearing"
Dr. Jerrold Petrofsky
Wright State University Dayton, Ohio
"Advances in Neuromuscular Control"
Dr. Timothy J. Pedley (Inaugural Lecture)
Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics Cambridge University
"Flow in Collapsible Tubes: Veins, Arteries, Airways"
