Waninger presents ‘Accelerating Pediatric Medical Device Innovation Through Collaboration’ at Westwood Lecture Series
Exterior of Westwood building.
Matthew Waninger, managing director of the Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium, presented “Accelerating Pediatric Medical Device Innovation Through Collaboration” at the Westwood Lecture Series on Sept. 30.
The lecture was open exclusively to members of the Purdue University Retirees Association (PURA), reflecting Purdue’s commitment to offering meaningful educational and social opportunities for retirees who remain closely connected to the university.
“Accelerating Pediatric Medical Device Innovation Through Collaboration”
Matthew Waninger
Managing Director
Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium
Abstract: The creation and innovation of medical devices to treat sick infants and children lags behind that of adults by at least 10 years. More effectively addressing the ongoing national shortage of new technologies and therapeutics for these children requires a new approach. The Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium — a collaborative partnership among Purdue’s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, the Department of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, Riley Hospital for Children, and industry partners Cook Medical and OrthoPediatrics — is working to bring the latest in medical technologies to the youngest patients. In this lecture, Waninger discussed his role and the work of the consortium in bringing together world-class engineering, clinical expertise and industry leadership to accelerate the development of life-changing pediatric medical devices.
Bio: Matthew Waninger has more than 25 years of experience in medical device research and product development, spanning early concept development, in vitro and in vivo verification testing, clinical studies, regulatory approvals, and scientific publications. Before joining the Crossroads Pediatric Device Consortium as the managing director in 2024, he held leadership roles at Cook Medical and founded the MED Institute in 2015, a contract research organization supporting medical device entrepreneurs.
A recognized leader in the field, Waninger has served on several international medical device standards committees and was an industry advisor to the Food and Drug Administration’s Characterization of Human Aortic Anatomy Project and MRI safety research. He previously served on Greenberg Stent Summit’s scientific advisory board, the Purdue Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering’s advisory board, and the Indiana Health Industry Forum’s board of directors, and he was a Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship fellowship mentor. He was recently named an adjunct clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine.
Waninger is a three-time Purdue graduate, earning his bachelor’s (1989), master’s (1994) and PhD (1998) in electrical engineering from the university.