• In January, it was announced that undergraduate Megan Davidian had been selected as a Gilman scholar for her study abroad trip to Australia.
• In January, doctoral student Megan Laughlin received second place in a preliminary heat of the University of Arkansas Graduate School's third-annual Three Minute Thesis competition.
• In February, graduate student Parker Cole was chosen to take part in the STEM Professional Awareness, Advancement and Development program, or PAAD, which is designed to help graduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math prepare for future careers.
• On February 17, Lapovations LLC, a University of Arkansas entrepreneurship team developing a platform of innovative products that improve minimally invasive surgery, won first place at the Brown-Forman Cardinal Challenge business plan competition in Louisville, Kentucky.
• In February, graduating senior Paolo Garcia was named a Razorback Classic by the Arkansas Alumni Association. This honor is awarded based on a student's academic excellence, demonstrated leadership and campus or community involvement.
• In February, the Alpha Eta Mu Beta National Executive Council approved a University of Arkansas Chapter of the National Biomedical Engineering Honor Society. Founding members of the chapter include President Hayley Chandler, Vice-President April Jules, Treasurer Mason Belue, and Secretary Katelyn Heath.
• On February 28, Dr. Morten Jensen was recognized at the sixth annual University of Arkansas Technology Ventures Inventor Appreciation Banquet.
• A newswire article published on March 18 showcased the work of Megan Laughlin, a doctoral student working to develop a prosthetic vein valve that would restore function and normal blood flow to the deep veins.
• In spring 2018, Dr. Morten Jensen and Dr. Kartik Balachandran each received a $154,000 Institutional Research Enhancement Award (AIREA) grant from the American Heart Association. The money will be used to fund projects that will further their respective research on the human heart.
• In sprit 2018, Dr. Kyle Quinn received approximately $140,000 to study the role that spinal cord injuries play in skin wound healing. 
• In summer 2018, eighteen girls from Dumas and Gould made the trip to the University of Arkansas for a hands-on look at the world of biomedicine, including the fields of biological science, biomedical engineering, exercise science and more. The program, called Biomedical Research Girls Camp, is aimed at building diversity among students who pursue science, technology, engineering and math career paths.
• In November, Lapovations, a University of Arkansas business plan competition team, won the 2018 SEC Student Pitch Championship.
• In November  a research team that includes Dr. Jeffrey Wolchok was awarded more than $400,000 from the NIH to study new ways to repair shoulder cuff injuries.
• In October, Dr. Morten Jensen was named a Heart Hero by the American Heart Association.

Research/Publications

• Easson G, Laughlin M, Jensen H, Haney K, Girardot M, Jensen M: “Performance Changes of Venous Valves following Tissue Treatment with Novel In Vitro System” Phlebology. 2018 Oct 18:268355518804360. doi: 10.1177/0268355518804360. [Epub ahead of print]

• Jensen MO, Jensen H, Skov SN, Levine RA, Nygaard H, Hasenkam JM, Nielsen SL: ”New Mitral Valve Annuloplasty Concept: Optimizing Annular Dynamics and Force Distribution” J Heart Valve Dis. 2018 in press
• Preut A, Laughlin M, Jensen H, Hestekin J, Jensen M: "Novel Method for Emboli Analog Formation Towards Improved Stroke Retrieval Devices” J Biomech. October 26, 2018 Volume 80, p. 121–128

• Greening G, Miller K, Spainhour C, Cato M, Muldoon T. 2018. Effects of isoflurane anesthesia on physiological parameters in murine subcutaneous tumor allografts measured via diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Biomedical Optics Express. 9(6): 2871-2886.

• Upadhyaya L, Egbosimba C, Qian X, Wickramasinghe R, Fernández-Pacheco R, Coelhoso IM, Portugal CAM, Crespo JG, Quemener D, Semsarilar M. 2018. Influence of Magnetic Nanoparticles on PISA Preparation of Poly(Methacrylic Acid)-b-Poly(Methylmethacrylate) Nano-Objects. Macromolecular Rapid Communications. doi: 10.1002/marc.201800333.

Talks/Conferences

• In February, Dr. Hanna Jensen led "The Heart of Biomedical Engineering," a workshop at the University of Arkansas open to female high schoolers from across northwest Arkansas. Jensen's workshop was part of the Girls Just Wanna' Have Fun: STEM Fun That Is! Year 4 event hosted by University of Arkansas' STEM Center for Math and Science Education. 
• On Friday, March 9, Dr. Narasimhan Rajaram delivered a seminar entitled "Optical Spectroscopy for Functional and Molecular Sensing of Treatment Resistance in Cancer" to the UArk Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
• In spring 2018, Master's student Jessica Perez was awarded a Diversity Travel Award to attend the 2018 World Congress of Biomechanics in Dublin, Ireland.
• From August 2-5, a group of biomedical engineering students traveled to Minnesota to train under industry leaders who helped them develop solutions to real-world problems associated with treating stroke, chronic pain and chronic hypertension. The University of Arkansas team attended the Biomedical Engineering Society Coulter College training program in Minneapolis, along with 10 other universities across the U.S. and one university from Colombia.
• Bonasso PC, Sexton KW, Hayat MDA, Al-Alawi A, Wu J, Jensen HK, Jensen MO, Smith SD, Burford JM, Dassinger MS: “Venous physiology predicts anesthetic induced hypotension in infants” American College of Surgeons, Boston, Massachusetts, October 21-25, 2018.