Eric Perreault, Ph.D.

The grant will fund hiring of 15 new tenure-track faculty and emphasize DEI values

A transformative grant awarded to Northwestern totaling $16 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aims to disrupt systemic barriers that impede the full participation of underrepresented groups by funding the cluster hiring of new faculty in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular, and brain and behavioral sciences.

The five-year grant, along with support from Northwestern, will allow the University to hire 15 new tenure-track faculty, and will deploy innovative strategies to ensure the success of faculty members from historically underrepresented populations. The funding is designed to address the dearth of under-represented minorities in the life sciences. The initiative aligns with Northwestern’s values, which emphasize the benefits of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This overarching initiative, called the Northwestern University Recruitment to Transform Under-Representation and achieve Equity (NURTURE) program is one of only 11 such awards to date in the country… Continue reading.

Eric Perreault, professor of biomedical engineering and physical medicine and rehabilitation, has been named chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. Perreault, who succeeds chair John Troy, will assume the position September 1.

“John Troy will be leaving the department in fantastic shape and with unique opportunities for growth and development,” said McCormick Dean Julio M. Ottino. “Under his leadership, the department’s ranking has jumped seven places from 19 to 12 and continues to garner national recognition.”

“The four plus years of my time as chair have been exciting,” Troy said. “Research expenditures have continued to rise in the face of an increasingly competitive environment for funding, and we’ve been able to improve the educational experience for our students and provide them with more opportunities.”

With a joint appointment in McCormick and the Feinberg School of Medicine, Perreault’s research focuses on the spinal control of movement, muscle physiology, and biomechanics. The goal of his work is to provide a better understanding of normal and pathological motor control that can be used to guide rehabilitative strategies for restoring function in individuals who have lost motor control due to stroke or spinal cord injury. His lab is based at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the pending induction of Eric Perreault, Ph.D., Professor, Biomedical Engineering Department and Dept of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, to its College of Fellows. Dr. Perreault was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows For contributions towards fundamental understanding of neuromuscular control and on the pathophysiology of stroke and spinal cord injury.