Karen Plaut - November Dimensions of Discovery Introduction

November 30, 2023

Dear Colleagues, 

I have one of the most exciting and potentially impactful jobs at Purdue: supporting your efforts to make the world better through research. Purdue-led research takes place across many fields, but today I want to celebrate recent strides in one area — the life and health sciences.

To build upon our world-class programs which range from cancer research, biomedical engineering and drug discovery to psychological, plant and animal sciences and more, we recently held the Life and Health Sciences Summit. Its purpose was to determine new areas of focus where Purdue has the potential to make a giant leap.

This summit drew on Purdue’s best; faculty teams from seven colleges and 22 departments submitted 48 proposals for consideration. These proposals spanned basic science to applications in areas as diverse as audiology, cancer, digital twins and genomics. Ultimately, we decided on four interdisciplinary projects to receive seed funding.  

Another important outcome of the summit involved the connections made between several teams with similar, overlapping or potentially complementary work. This opens new possibilities for collaboration and interdisciplinary research, a key Purdue attribute that differentiates us from many other universities. We thrive on working together! 

My hope is that everyone of us continues to look beyond our individual disciplines to tap into the collective expertise and passion that exist across Purdue’s research enterprise. That is what makes the Purdue experience special and my job so rewarding!

Thanks,

Karen Plaut
Executive Vice President for Research