New program mixes medicine and technology

Institute for Medicine and Engineering will open in new IAST building next fall The School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Medical School are jointly establishing an Institute for Medicine and Engineering next fall, Engineering Dean Gregory Farrington said yesterday. The Institute will serve as a graduate research program for technological issues in medicine. It will be housed on the first floor of the Institute of Advanced Science and Technology when construction of the building on Smith Walk is complete. University of Chicago Pathology Professor Peter Davies will direct the new program, Farrington said. The program may be the first of its kind in the nation, he added. "We think that in the boldness and the breadth of the initiative, we are the first, we are the boldest and we will be the best," Farrington said. He added that he wants to make the program a model for other schools. "Our goal is to make the University of Pennsylvania the gold standard for research and education in bioengineering, biotechnology and related fields," Farrington said. Davies said the Institute will work in connection with the Bioengineering department. "[The Institute] will bring the physical sciences to bear on problems in medicine," he said. Davies, a graduate of Cambridge University, has worked at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He said he decided to direct the program because he appreciates the interdisciplinary nature of the schools at Penn. "University faculty from different disciplines interact with each other more than at other large universities," he explained. "If I am going to direct an institution which is by definition interdisciplinary, it is best to do it in a university that has the same values." Davies was also attracted by the prestige of the Engineering School and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. "It was a unique opportunity to fit together a superb hospital system with a strong engineering school," he said. According to Farrington, the project has been in the works for several years. "[Medical School Dean] William Kelley and I launched a planning initiative two or three years ago," Farrington said. "We formed a committee?to choose the director and hire about 20 new faculty members to help form the institution." The program's faculty will teach both graduate and undergraduate courses. While the Institute itself will cater primarily to graduate students, Farrington said he hopes to quickly establish an undergraduate program. Davies said opportunities for undergraduate students will exist in the first year of the program. "There will definitely be undergraduate students doing work study, internships and summer work," he explained.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.