Biomedical engineering at Case ranks #2 in U.S. in awards and grants
given by the National Institutes of Health
School has received $10.4 million in funding
in FY 2003
January 25, 2005 | For more information: Laura
M. Massie (216)-368-4442
Case Western Reserve University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering
ranks No. 2 in the United States for grants and awards given by the
National Institutes of Health to biomedical engineering research. In
Fiscal Year 2003, biomedical engineering research activities at 105
American universities in all were funded by NIH. Case’s biomedical
engineering department received $10.4 million; the University of Washington
ranked first, receiving a total of $18 million.
“What this means for the Case School of Engineering and our biomedical
engineering department is that we have the resources to fund an outstanding
research program,” said Patrick E. Crago, the Allen H. and Constance
T. Ford Professor and Chair of biomedical engineering at Case. “The
NIH funding also provides an equally outstanding research training environment
for our students, and our faculty are working at the cutting edge of
biomedical engineering research.”
Case’s department of biomedical engineering—a joint department
of the Case School of Engineering and Case School
of Medicine—plays
a strong role in translational research, taking
basic scientific information or new technologies
and transforming them into something the medical community can use at
the patient’s
bedside. The university has developed a highly
successful biomedical engineering research and education model, ranking
it among the top 10 departments in the United States.
Crago credits the department’s affiliations with all of the medical
centers in Cleveland with much of its success. “Most biomedical
engineering departments at universities have affiliations
with one medical center, rather than all of the
centers in a large city,” he
said. “But
we have research partnerships with all of the major
health institutions here—University Hospitals of
Cleveland, the Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth Medical
Center and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical
Center. Those institutions, along with our department
and the Case School of Medicine—get all the credit
in the world.”
Biomedical engineering at Case, which is ranked No. 4 in undergraduate
education and No. 6 in graduate education by U.S. News & World Report,
also is in invigorated stage of growth. The department has three thrust
areas: biomaterials and tissue engineering; neural engineering and prostheses;
and imaging, sensing and guided intervention.
“Researchers in these areas work diligently on new methods to
prevent disease, allow for faster and more complete
recoveries and improve the quality of life for
those with chronic disease,” Crago
said. “Our
students—graduate and undergraduate—work with faculty
side-by-side in all of this research, and the excellence
of that research is why we are so successful in
obtaining NIH funding.”
In addition, Case’s biomedical engineering researchers are developing
stimulation methods for treating neurological disorders such as spinal
cord injury and stroke. Another group is conducting clinical work on
control of bladder functions for those with stress incontinence and
spinal cord injury. Others are creating biosensors for measuring small
quantities of body fluids, which can help look for contaminants such
as lead.
“The research list is long and impressive,” said Case School
of Engineering Dean Robert F. Savinell. “All of these projects
reflect how technology affects health care.”
For example, Case heads a partnership of the world’s leading
centers of research dedicated to the commercialization of neurostimulation
technologies that address critical neurological disorders. Case is the
lead institution in the Ohio Neurostimulation and Neuromodulation Partnership
(ONNP), an alliance between the university, MetroHealth, the Cleveland
VA Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, University Hospitals
and industrial partners led by NDI Medical, an early stage, Cleveland-based
neurological medical device start-up company. ONNP aims to commercialize
Ohio's extraordinary findings and technologies in neurostimulation for
the global market.
In fact, the innovative device that enabled the late actor Christopher
Reeve, paralyzed in a horseback riding accident in 1995, to breathe
periodically on his own was developed by Case’s biomedical engineering
department, the VA Medical Center and University Hospitals. The phrenic
nerve pacing system grew out of almost two decades of research by J.
Thomas Mortimer, professor emeritus of biomedical engineering at Case,
and was implanted in Reeve by a team led by Raymond Onders, assistant
professor of surgery, and Anthony DiMarco, professor of medicine and
physiology, both at the Case School of Medicine and University Hospitals.
“We’re proud of the research and teaching we do in biomedical
engineering,” Crago said. “So much of what happens in hospitals
and medical centers around the world will depend on the biomedical breakthroughs
that continue to take place at Case.”
About Case Western Reserve University
Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826
and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research,
service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally
recognized programs in the Arts and Sciences, Dental Medicine, Engineering,
Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Sciences. http://www.case.edu.
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