News: A faculty member and a researcher affiliated with IMES are 2024 Society for Biomaterials award winners

The awards are for those who have made long-lasting contributions to the biomaterials discipline.

IMES

Elazer R. Edelman, director, MIT Institute for Medical Engineering & Science (IMES), and the Edward J. Poitras Professor in Medical Engineering and Science, MIT, has been awarded the 2024 Founders Award from the Society for Biomaterials. This prize is awarded to an individual who has made a long-term, landmark contribution to the biomaterials discipline. In addition, Natalie Artzi, a principle research scientist at IMES, and Associate Professor, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Medicine, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Harvard Medical School (HMS), received the Clemson Award for Applied Research.

According to a press release, the Society For Biomaterials (SFB), is a multidisciplinary society of academic, healthcare, governmental and business professionals who are dedicated to promoting advancements in all aspects of biomaterials science, education, and professional standards to enhance human health and quality of life.

Robert S. Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor, MIT, and a member of the affiliate faculty of IMES, said of the award for Edelman: “Dr. Edelman couples modern biology with innovative science and engineering. He pioneered the rational development of endovascular stents, changing how these devices are designed, regulated and produced. The Center he directs has been formidable in its ability to move new ideas from conception to clinical practice. His work in basic biology, applied pharmacology and controlled drug delivery has already enabled stent-based drug delivery changing the practice of medicine and lives of millions.”

The Clemson award given to Artzi is awarded to an individual whose accomplishments include significant utilization or application of basic knowledge in science to achieve a specific goal in the field of biomaterials, according to the SFB.

Chad A. Mirkin, PhD, Northwestern University, said of Artzi: “Natalie’s contributions to the field of Bio(nano)materials are truly special. She has contributed substantially to several fields, deciphering basic science principles to inform the design of smart and responsive biomaterials with vast translation potential. . . Natalie is an out-of-the-box thinker, who is energetic and highly motivated. Her mindset is refreshing, and she is offering extremely innovative approaches to pharmaceutical development, engaging and inspiring others, including the next generation of diverse bioengineers.”

Edelman, who is a graduate of the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST)—MD, '83 and Medical Engineering and Medical Physics (MEMP) PhD, '84—is also a Professor of Medicine at HMS, and a cardiac intensive care unit cardiologist at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston.

Edelman received his BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), MIT, and an MS in Applied Biology, Bioelectrical Engineering, MIT. Graduate work with Robert Langer defined his focus on the mathematics of regulated drug delivery systems. After internal medicine training and clinical fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at BWH, he was a Research Fellow in Pathology at HMS with Morris Karnovsky, investigating the biology of vascular repair.

IMES Director Elazer R. Edelman, right, teaching the HST.090 class in 2019.

His research interests meld medical and scientific training leveraging pathophysiologic insight to improve clinical decision-making and device design.

Artzi, who is also an Associate member of the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, focuses her research on leveraging material science, chemistry, imaging and biology. Through the Artzi Lab, her group is dedicated to designing smart material platforms and medical devices to improve human health. Artzi has pioneered basic understanding of tissue:biomaterial interactions and concepts learned have changed the way we view materials.