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Faculty Accolades
Biomedical engineer KYRIACOS A. ATHANASIOU has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Athanasiou was inducted “for inventing, developing, and translating technologies, such as articular cartilage implants and methods for intraosseous infusion, that impact biomedical fields, including orthopedics, maxillofacial surgery, tissue engineering, diabetes, and emergency care,” according to NAM.
“I am honored to have been elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine,” said Athanasiou, Distinguished Professor of biomedical engineering and Henry Samueli Chair in Engineering at UCI. “The recognition, which would not have been possible without the contributions of my students and colleagues at UCI and other institutions throughout my career, highlights the importance of developing a fundamental understanding of the key engineering principles that govern the human body, inventing new ways to treat acquired and congenital defects, and translating those innovations to help improve the human condition.”
Athanasiou specializes in developing advanced engineered tissues and other technologies to address a wide variety of medical issues. He is well known for making implants that help cartilage heal and repair itself. His scaffolds provided the first cartilage implant to treat joint defects and have been used as bone and dental fillers. Athanasiou’s approach has been to create cartilage constructs to fill in cracks and defects in joints, allowing smooth, pain-free movement.
He and his team pioneered a revolutionary intraosseous infusion device to deliver drugs and other vital substances directly through bones. The technology is now commonly implemented by emergency response and ambulance teams around the world.
MICHAEL BERNS, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of biomedical engineering with a joint appointment in developmental and cell biology, and co-founder and founding director of UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in the United Kingdom.
Berns was invited to join the society based on his extensive biomedical optics contributions in the fields of biology and medicine.
“I am truly honored to be invited to join the Royal Society, especially because it’s the same society that has honored so many elite luminaries of the past,” said Berns.
The mission of the organization is to advance health, through education and innovation. Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society of Medicine are elected for life through a peer review process on the basis of excellence in science. The society’s 200-year-old history has seen prominent figures in medicine and science as part of its membership and governance. Famous Fellows include Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur, Edward Jenner and Sigmund Freud. Elected Fellows of the British Royal Society of Medicine are comparable to members of the National Academy of Medicine in the United States.
DIGMAN NAMED AN ALLEN DISTINGUISHED INVESTIGATOR
Researchers MICHELLE DIGMAN and Jennifer Prescher have won an Allen Distinguished Investigator Award for their project to develop an advanced imaging technique to simultaneously track and manipulate multiple kinds of cells and molecules. Digman, associate professor of biomedical engineering, and Prescher, professor of chemistry, will receive $1.5 million over three years to support their research.
The two are among 10 new Allen Distinguished Investigators who are working in teams to explore new avenues of basic biology, health, disease and technology development. Theirs is one of four projects, all focused on unanswered questions about how the immune system and metabolism work together in the emerging field of immunometabolism.
“To help scientists better understand the immune system and how it dovetails with metabolism, we need improved toolkits to track and globally probe immune cells and their metabolic functions at once, over time, in a living animal,” said Digman. “We are grateful to have the support of the Allen Institute for this important project.”
She and Prescher are developing a new technique to shine “biological flashlights” on many different immune- and metabolism-related molecules. The bioluminescent phasor technique will ultimately yield a large toolkit of optical tags that can simultaneously light up multiple processes or proteins in a laboratory mouse’s immune system. Once complete, the toolkit would be available for use by any research lab, opening new discoveries about the immune system and its relationship to diet.
GRATTON RECEIVES AWARD FOR PIONEERING WORK
The International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) recognized ENRICO GRATTON with the 2021 Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award at the SPIE Photonics West virtual conference. The award cited Gratton’s significant contributions to biophotonics – the science of producing and utilizing photons or light to image, identify and engineer biological materials. SPIE specifically noted his development of innovative ultrafast optical imaging and spectroscopy methods and their integration into microfluidic platforms.
This award was “a great honor” for Gratton who considers Chance, for whom the award was named, a “great friend.” In his conference presentation, Gratton shared his experiences meeting Chance, a National Academy of Sciences member and Olympic gold medalist in sailing who died in 2010, and doing research together.
Gratton is a professor of biomedical engineering and principal investigator for UCI’s Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics. A pioneer in the field of biomedical optics, Gratton’s achievements include development of the following technologies: multifrequency phase fluorometry, pulsed-source methods for frequency-domain fluorescence spectroscopy, generalized polarization to study cell membranes, spectral fluorescence lifetime measurements for cell physiology, photo-density waves, quantitative tissue oximetry with near-infrared spectroscopy and optical brain imaging.
During his more than 40-year career, Gratton has disseminated his work to researchers worldwide, trained younger scientists and interfaced successfully with industry. Under his guidance, more than 50 students have earned doctorates, with most currently occupying critical roles in academia and research institutions.
KHERADVAR SELECTED FOR ELITE DISTINCTION
The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) selected DR. ARASH KHERADVAR for its 2021 Class of the College of Fellows. A professor of biomedical engineering, Kheradvar is recognized for his “contributions to the biomechanics of the cardiovascular system, cardiac imaging, clinical translation of novel heart valve technologies and for his advocacy for racial diversity.”
Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is a prestigious professional distinction; fellows, who are recognized for outstanding achievement, represent the top two percent of medical and biological engineers from around the world.
As an engineer, physician and scientist, Kheradvar focuses his research on cardiovascular science and engineering with an emphasis on novel cardiac imaging technologies, heart valve engineering and cardiovascular mechanics.
“I am honored to be elected by this elite group of biomedical engineers and scientists as a fellow and to help advance AIMBE’s mission of providing leadership and advocacy in medical and biological engineering for the benefit of society,” he said.
Kheradvar is one of 174 who were inducted into the AIMBE Fellow Class of 2021 at the virtual Annual Meeting. He is the 12th UCI biomedical engineering faculty member to be named an AIMBE Fellow since the nonprofit organization was established in 1991.
CHESLER RECOGNIZED FOR IMPACT IN MENTORING AND FIGHTING RACIAL INEQUALITY
NAOMI CHESLER, professor of biomedical engineering and director of UCI’s Edwards Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology, received a Professional Impact Award from the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) at its virtual annual event in March 2021.
Chesler received the mentoring award and was acknowledged for “national leadership in mentoring of women faculty in engineering.” Since arriving at UCI in July 2020, she has initiated a peer faculty mentoring group for women faculty in biomedical engineering. In addition to her cardiovascular and engineering education research, she is well known in the biomedical engineering community as an activist for diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.
“I’m honored to be recognized for my work to promote the careers of women faculty in biomedical engineering,” said Chesler. “We know that diversity drives innovation. Recruiting and retaining women faculty of all races and ethnicities in our discipline is critical to finding solutions to the health and healthcare challenges facing our country.”
Chesler also joined a national network of women deans, chairs and distinguished faculty in biomedical engineering calling upon the National Institutes of Health and other funding agencies to address disparities in allocating support to Black researchers. The group made the call to action in the Jan. 26, 2021, issue of the journal Cell.
In examining the racial inequities and injustices that prevent Black faculty from equitably contributing to science and achieving their full potential, insufficient federal funding for research by Black scientists rose to the top as a key issue.
KHINE CHOSEN FOR UCI LEADERSHIP POSITION
The UCI Division of Undergraduate Education has appointed MICHELLE KHINE, professor of biomedical engineering, as associate dean.
Khine joined the Samueli School of Engineering in 2009 and serves as the director of Faculty Innovation and founding director of the BioENGINE (BioENGineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship) program. She also has joint appointments in chemical & biomolecular engineering, materials science & engineering, and electrical engineering.
The Khine Lab’s mission is dedicated to “improving human health by developing innovative, low-cost and scalable point-ofcare and continuous monitoring solutions.” Khine inspires and encourages students to pursue laboratory and academic research and entrepreneurship. She is involved with numerous DUE programs, including the ANTrepreneur Center and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. Khine has been committed to campuswide issues of equity, diversity and inclusion for STEM majors, including creating the FITE (Females Impacting Technology Everywhere) Club.
Khine said, “I’m honored and thrilled to serve as associate dean for Division of Undergraduate Education because our undergraduates here at UCI are truly phenomenal.”
