Joseph Wallace appointed associate vice president for research development

(Purdue University photo/Michael Robb)

Joseph Wallace has been named the associate vice president for research development and will spearhead new research endeavors for Purdue University in Indianapolis. Prior to this appointment, Wallace was serving in multiple roles simultaneously at IUPUI: interim dean of the School of Engineering and Technology since 2023, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering since 2020, a professor at IUPUI since 2010, and a researcher studying bone health and disease for two decades.

“Joey’s appointment to this position fills a critical need to advance Purdue’s research in Indianapolis,” said David Umulis, senior vice provost Purdue University for Indianapolis. Wallace’s outstanding research in biomedical engineering, in addition to his leadership and administrative capabilities, make him an excellent choice for this new position, Umulis said.

Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research in the Office of Research, said she is delighted that Wallace will be part of Purdue’s research leadership team.

“Under Dr. Wallace’s leadership, we will be able to shine a spotlight on the great research that is already taking place in Indianapolis, explore new opportunities and use the power of both campuses to continue to grow our research portfolio,” Plaut said.

Wallace said he is excited to expand those research areas in which Indianapolis already excels, including energy generation and storage, autonomous transportation, medicine, pharmaceuticals and innovative materials.

“Taking this brand-new position in the inaugural year of Purdue University in Indianapolis, having a voice and a vision and to be able to execute that voice and vision — that’s what’s most exciting,” Wallace said. “The goal will be to interface with local and state and federal sources and businesses that can bring resources and opportunities into the Indianapolis ecosystem here on campus to both bolster what people are doing in their labs and also create bigger initiatives that will drive the campus forward. For example, I’m thinking about how we can interface with the local biotech companies to get opportunities for our students that don’t exist right now.”

With a history of successful collaborations with other researchers across Indianapolis, nationally and internationally, Wallace plans to put his experiences to good use.

“For the 14 years I’ve been on this campus, I’ve been integrating with local researchers, hospitals and businesses that are focused on biomedically related things,” Wallace said. “I’ve got collaborations across this whole campus which will not go away with the realignment.”

A first-generation college student, Wallace became a researcher in biomedical engineering through “a circuitous path.” He majored in aerospace engineering at Georgia Tech before pursuing another strong interest, medicine, in that university’s brand-new biomedical engineering program. Wallace earned a PhD in biomedical engineering in 2007 from the University of Michigan and chose to stay for a National Institutes of Health-funded individual postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Chemistry.

“I didn’t want to be a doctor, but I liked the idea of BME, a relatively new field at the time,” Wallace said. “I took a couple of classes — one of them taught me about bone and I was hooked.” His areas of research include bone mechanics, mechanobiology, mechanically-mediated skeletal adaptation, and collagen’s role in bone health and fracture resistance.

Wallace hopes his new position will provide pathways for many Purdue University students to follow and find their own love of research.

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