Grand Valley Magazine Winter 2014 - (Page 20)

GOING THE EXTRA MEDICAL MILE Research by biomedical students changes patients' lives by Leah Twilley I t is one of the most common neurological disorders and there is no known cure. It affects approximately 1 percent of the world's population, and about one in 10 people has suffered a seizure. "There are a lot of theories, but we don't know why epilepsy happens," said James Gurisko, a graduate student in Grand Valley's biomedical engineering master's program. "A seizure is a change in the electrical activity of your brain, which is a problem because your brain has a very defined way of working." A group of faculty members and two graduate students, including Gurisko, have teamed with physicians from the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital to research epilepsy and help patients manage it. This partnership is one of many that provides an opportunity for Grand Valley graduate students to gain practical experience while obtaining a master's degree in biomedical engineering, one of the fastest growing professions in the nation. 20 Winter '14 In 2011, Grand Valley became the first university in West Michigan to offer a graduate-level degree in biomedical engineering - a field that pairs engineering expertise with medical design - and the only program in Michigan to focus on medical device design and development. "The aging population and a growing focus on health issues will drive demand for better medical devices, equipment and techniques designed by biomedical engineers," said Joe Iannelli, director of the School of Engineering in the Padnos College of Engineering and Computing. "Our program is even more valuable with the Pew Grand Rapids Campus located in close proximity to Grand Rapids' growing medical research and biomedical industries." The program, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, was established in 2010 by engineering professors Samhita Rhodes and John Farris. It has since paired dozens of students with dozens of companies in the West Michigan area, including Spectrum Health and Van Andel Institute. The Grand Valley-Spectrum Health partnership was the first in the program, and began when Drs. Konstantin Elisevich and Brien Smith contacted the School of Engineering for assistance with their research. Elisevich is co-chair of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Spectrum and an epilepsy surgeon; Smith works at Spectrum Health's EMU. Elisevich also contacted former patient Paul Fishback, professor of mathematics at Grand Valley. Elisevich successfully performed surgery on Fishback in 2006 to manage his epileptic seizures. "I was pretty enthusiastic when Dr. Elisevich moved to Grand Rapids in 2011 and reached out to me," said Fishback. Rhodes and engineering professor Rob Bossemeyer recruited Gurisko and Jeremy Pace to assist Elisevich and the epilepsy team with the timeconsuming task of analyzing data from his patients in the EMU. The unit's researchers and physicians focus on GVM ONLINE Watch a video of biomedical students and researchers at www.gvsu.edu/gvmagazine. http://www.gvsu.edu/gvmagazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Grand Valley Magazine Winter 2014

Campus News
International Education
Arts
Athletics
Donor Impact
Covenant House provides education, opportunity
Going the extra Medical Mile
Seeds of Promise
Student media: creating community, content and careers
Q&A Bill Holsinger-Robinson
Research
Off the Path
Alumni

Grand Valley Magazine Winter 2014