January 27, 2020

Purdue launches ‘This is Purdue’ podcast

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A mother who lost three children to a rare disease returned to Purdue to study nursing to help others. A scientist who watched her Parkinson’s patients struggle to communicate with loved ones created a life-changing communication device. A high school student, now a Ph.D. student at Purdue, who lost the ability to walk re-learned the game of basketball to play in a wheelchair for Team USA.

These are just three of the best stories about Purdue students, faculty and alumni that will be featured in a new Purdue University podcast. 

The first episode of the official Purdue University podcast, “This is Purdue,” launches today (Jan. 27). New interviews and stories will be released every other Monday, and these episodes will be available online and through Purdue’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. The first season will feature nine episodes with interviews and narrative segments, and will run through May.

The first episode, “Hope Times Two,” features guest Jessica Huber, associate dean of research in the College of Health and Human Sciences, and professor of speech, language and hearing sciences. Huber is well known for creating SpeechVive, a device worn behind the ear that reduces the speech impairments associated with Parkinson’s disease by prompting people to speak more loudly. Huber’s direct work with patients brings a personal element in helping people with a problem through science.

The second part of the episode features the story of Purdue’s School of Nursing alumna Julie Smith, who decided to study nursing after her experience raising and losing three children to Niemann-Pick disease type C, or NPC, a genetic disorder that causes a dangerous accumulation of cholesterol in the brain, liver and spleen. Patients lose the ability to walk, talk and eat. Her personal story also looks at the foundation created in honor of her children and its contributions to research.

“This podcast is just one of many ways that we can tell stories about Boilermakers – the lives they are changing and the passion and heart they bring to solving such diverse problems,” said R. Ethan Braden, vice president of marketing. “Innovation at Purdue University happens when Boilermakers collaborate and persist to leave their mark, in small steps and giant leaps.”

The podcast was created and launched by Olivea McCollins, a graduate student in the Brian Lamb School of Communication, as part of her year-long marketing internship with Purdue Marketing and Media. McCollins also serves as the program’s host this semester.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Ethan Braden, 765-494-6801, bradenr@purdue.edu

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