News Story

Fisher Elected Fellow of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering

BioE associate professor and associate chair for undergraduate studies John Fisher.

Clark School Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BioE) associate professor and associate chair for undergraduate studies John Fisher has been elected to the American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering's (AIMBE) College of Fellows. He was cited for "outstanding contributions to the development of engineered tissues based upon the control of paracrine signaling among biomaterial-embedded cell populations."

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIMBE has 50,000 members who represent biomedical and biological engineering communities in academia, industry, and professional societies. The AIMBE advocates for the advancement of the field by advising in policy and product development, communicating objectively with government agencies, promoting investment in biomedical and biological engineering, striving to inspire future scientists, promotes interdisciplinary research, and honoring notable achievements. The Institute's College of Fellows is comprised of approximately 1000 individuals have distinguished themselves in research, education, or industry. Fellows are nominated by AIMBE members and are considered to represent the top 2% of the medical and biological engineering community.

Fisher, who earned his Ph.D. in bioengineering from Rice University in 2003, joined the University of Maryland that same year as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. He received an NSF-CAREER award in 2005 for his work on establishing the relationship between biomaterial properties and endogenous cell signaling. In 2006 he joined the newly formed Fischell Department of Bioengineering, and was promoted to associate professor in 2008.

Fisher has established himself as a preeminent researcher in the biomaterials and tissue engineering communities for his work in bone regeneration and cartilage repair, including new techniques for craniofacial reconstruction and growing implantable tissue. His work has been sponsored by millions of dollars in grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Arthritis Foundation, and the Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund. His development of biomaterials that resist premature degradation won the UM Office of Information Office of Technology Commercialization's Life Science Invention of the Year award in 2005, and an efficient, cost-effective bioreactor system developed in his lab won the Best Inventor Pitch at the university's 2009 Professor Venture Fair. Fisher is the director of the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory and the PI of the BioE's highly competitive, National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates program on Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering. He teaches courses in tissue engineering and the modeling of physiological systems for graduate and undergraduate students. He also serves as an editor for Tissue Engineering, the leading journal in its field.

Fisher will be formally inducted at a ceremony to be held during AIMBE's 21st Annual Event in Washington, D.C. on February 20th, 2012.

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December 5, 2011