Biomedical engineering department celebrates 40 years

At 40 years old, the Tulane University Department of Biomedical Engineering is one of the nation’s oldest. It is a global leader in providing distinctive and creative interdisciplinary solutions to biomedical engineering research and design problems.

This week, the department celebrates in style with a department conference, lab tours and a gala Thursday night at the Audubon Tea Room featuring former New Orleans Saints player Steve Gleason delivering the A.C. Suhren Jr. Biomedical Engineering Lecture. Tulane President Mike Fitts will also speak.

“We are excited to commemorate our first 40 years as a department,” said Donald Gaver, the Alden J. “Doc” Laborde Chair of Biomedical Engineering. “As one of the first biomedical engineering departments in our country, it has been a long and interesting road and we anticipate an even brighter future.”

“As one of the first biomedical engineering departments in our country, it has been a long and interesting road and we anticipate an even brighter future.”

Donald Gaver

Gaver has guided the department since 2006 and is proud to boast of its student and faculty success, from nerve-on-a-chip technology, patient-specific bioinformatics and high-performance computation to client-focused biomedical design and groundbreaking work in women’s reproductive health.

“We produce companies, revolutionary research and new technologies,” he said. “Most importantly, we help our students create rewarding careers and produce these successes for themselves.”

The department conference will take place Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Tulane School of Medicine and feature panel discussions with former chairs and students from the early, middle and current years of the department. They include Nick Pashos, founder and CEO of BioAesthetics, a New Orleans biotech startup, and Elaine Horn-Ranney, president and CEO of Tympanogen, which develops innovative ear, nose and throat devices.

Organizers are especially delighted to have Gleason speak at the gala. Gleason founded Team Gleason in 2011 after he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Through this foundation, he has worked to raise awareness of ALS, and he has challenged the worlds of technology and science to provide patients suffering from neuromuscular diseases with leading-edge technology, equipment and services.

For a complete schedule of anniversary events, click here.