The announcement of a collaborative agreement between Rensselaer and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute was made April 25 in Cleveland. Pictured are: Wolf von Maltzahn, associate vice president of research at Rensselaer; Om Nalamasu, vice president of research at Rensselaer; Paul DiCorleto, chairman of the Lerner Research Institute; and Peter Cavanagh, chair of biomedical engineering at the Cleveland Clinic. Photo by Cleveland Clinic/Jim Lang

Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute and Rensselaer are collaborating to further research at the intersection of medicine and engineering. Under terms of a recently signed agreement, the institutions will jointly undertake research in several areas including nano-medicine, nano-bio materials, smart orthopaedic implants, biomolecular imaging, biocomputation and bioinformatics, bio-MEMS and the development of drug-delivery devices.

“This collaboration will accelerate scientific progress by bringing together the strengths of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a top-notch engineering and basic science university, with the translational biomedical research expertise in the Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute,” said Paul DiCorleto, chairman of the Lerner Research Institute. “These two institutions are highly complementary and multiple areas for collaboration have been identified.”

Together the Lerner Research Institute and Rensselaer will develop joint research proposals and secure funding from federal and non-federal funding sources, such as corporations, foundations, and private philanthropists.

The collaborating institutions also will establish a visiting scientist program and a summer internship program for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, the Lerner Research Institute and Rensselaer plan to hold joint research retreats, fund a joint seed grant program, offer joint seminars and workshops, and facilitate joint proposals and briefings to the National Institutes of Health in areas of mutual interest.

“As part of The Rensselaer Plan, we have made substantial strategic investments in bioscience, bioengineering, nanotechnology and information technology,” said Omkaram “Om” Nalamasu, vice president of research at Rensselaer. “Combining the strengths of the Cleveland Clinic’s medical researchers with Rensselaer’s scientists and engineers, will foster new opportunities for discovery and innovation at the intersection of the life sciences and engineering to address critical health and medical challenges.”

Published May 1, 2006