Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience to host life sciences-engineering workshop series

The Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience in June and July will hold a series of life sciences-engineering workshops designed to create interdisciplinary research teams focused on tackling major problems in neuroscience.

The PIIN Life Sciences-Engineering Workshop Series is designed to identify research questions in neuroscience that would best be addressed by an interdisciplinary approach spanning the life sciences and engineering, and to create teams of Purdue faculty members equipped to solve these problems. Selected teams will receive funding from PIIN as part of the institute’s key initiatives.

Key areas in neuroscience where major problems could be identified include age-related neurodegenerative disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, pain and addiction. Examples of engineering technologies with a strong presence at Purdue that could be leveraged to solve these problems include:

• Multiscale imaging and devices recording brain activity.
• Multilayer brain signaling networks.
• Biomarker detection.
• Materials development.
• Computational modeling.

The workshop times and details are:

* June 10, 2-4 p.m., Wilmeth Active Learning Center, Room 1087: Existing groups of life scientists and engineers will give introductory presentations. Faculty members will identify major problems in neuroscience that could be solved through a combined life sciences-engineering approach. The outcome of the workshop will be the identification of key questions. 

* June 24, 2-4 p.m., Wilmeth Active Learning Center, Room 1087: New teams of life scientists and engineers will form with the aim of solving major problems in neuroscience. Each team will develop a preliminary research plan describing how to solve these problems and what additional expertise may be needed. The outcome of the workshop will be answering the question, “How would you apply your expertise to this problem?” 

* July 29, 2-4 p.m., location TBD: Teams of life scientists and engineers (including new members providing additional expertise) will formulate more advanced/detailed research plans, present these plans and field questions. The outcome of the workshop is the development of research plans to be considered for internal funding.

Networking and refreshments will follow each meeting. Presentations at the workshops will be recorded and posted online along with discussion summaries after each workshop.

For more information, visit the website.

Writer: Madison Sanneman, 317-903-5642, msannema@purdue.edu