Purdue to host Team Life Science Week events on campus

Purdue Team Life Science members Robert Stahelin, the Retter Professor of Pharmacy and a professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology; Susan Sangha, an assistant professor of psychological sciences; Priya Prakash, a graduate student in professor Gaurav Chopra’s lab; and Orlando Hoilett, a graduate student in professor Jacqueline Linnes’ lab, take a timeout in Mackey Arena. (Photo by Vincent Walter) Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University is hosting its first Team Life Science Week in celebration of the vibrant life science community on campus. Lectures, tours, gallery receptions and more will take place on campus Monday (March 19) through Friday (March 23).

Purdue has six life science institutes and several core facilities with roots in the life sciences. These entities form a robust ecosystem on campus that many students, staff and faculty may not know the depths of, said Kaethe Beck, director of operations, life sciences, in the Office of Research and Partnerships. The events of Life Science Week will provide an opportunity for attendees to understand the various efforts related to life science on campus, the resources the institutes provide and the many goals they’re working toward.

“With the NCAA playoffs happening, we’ve chosen a March Madness theme for the week – we have a great team in the life sciences and we want to celebrate and showcase the same excitement around life-changing research,” Beck said. “Throughout each event, we hope that our life science faculty, research staff and students will feel the sense of team spirit that is so important for advancing our collective goals.” 

The festivities begin with a tipoff event in the Jischke Hall of Biomedical Engineering. Directors of the life sciences institutes will give a brief overview of their accomplishments and plans for the future, followed by a reception. Attendees will receive bracket-style feedback sheets for prioritizing the goals articulated during the presentations.

“We really are one big team working toward the same goal of enhancing life science research at Purdue,” said Beck. “We hope this event will set the tone for the rest of the week and for the next year.”

Among the larger events is the annual meeting for the Greater Indiana Society for Neuroscience (SfN) on Friday. Over 250 attendees have registered, mostly representing neuroscience research at Purdue, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and Indiana University Bloomington. The event will feature keynote speakers Patricia Janak of Johns Hopkins University, Wendy Suzuki of New York University and Donna Fekete of Purdue. This is the first time the meeting will be held at Purdue.

Purdue graduate students will have the opportunity to participate in a scavenger hunt across campus on Thursday. They will be tested on their ability to find resources on campus to complete experiments and meet many of Purdue’s scientists along the way. Teams must have at least three graduate students, and all team members must be from different departments. A prize of $1,000 in travel money will be awarded to the winning team. Teams can register here.

Other events include “From the Dissection Lab,” a gallery reception; a Discovery Park Distinguished Lecture with the director of the Integrative Biology Institute at the University of Illinois; a brain and spinal cord injury seminar series and more. A full schedule of events can be found here. 

Media contact: Kayla Zacharias, 765-494-9318, kzachar@purdue.edu 

Source: Kaethe Beck, 765-496-0364, kaethe@purdue.edu