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Allen Wang Awarded Johnson Medal by Amy Weldon The INBT and Materials Science and Engineering Department alumni Allen Y. Wang (’07) was awarded the Johnson Medal for developing a fast-acting powder to stop disruptive bleeding during surgical procedures. The award recognizes research and development personnel for excellence in breakthrough, innovative work aimed to benefit patients and consumers. Wang is principal scientist in the Biosurgery R&D team at Ethicon Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, where he developed the Surgicel® Powder Absorbable Hemostat. The interdisciplinary team including scientists, engineers, designers, and clinicians, worked for nearly eight years to develop the life-saving product.
“I am honored to receive the Johnson Medal and I am very grateful to have had this opporHemostats, medical devices used to control tunity to work together, innovate, and bring bleeding, exist in many forms, such as fabric, this product to market to help patients,” said sponges, and liquids, but they are ineffective in Wang. uncontrolled bleeding situations. Wang’s goal While at Hopkins, Wang studied under many was to improve successful outcomes for surmaterials science and engineering professors, geons and patients faced with the phenomincluding INBT faculty Peter Searson, Kalina enon. The Surgicel® powder, composed of Hristova, and Hai-Quan Mao. Currently, he oxidized regenerated cellulose fiber, is made supervises an INBT graduate student through through a series of proprietary and innovative the Master’s Industry Co-Op Program, and manufacturing processes. The team also develone of his goals is to inspire early-career reoped a delivery device so surgeons have more searchers to be innovative and inspired by the control when applying the product. Surgicel® world around them. Powder is designed to target continuous broad oozing bleeding where the source can be difficult and time consuming to locate, which occurs in more than 50% of all surgeries and procedures.
