Megan McCain, Chonette Early Career Chair and Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, was inducted into The AIMBE College of Fellows.
Chonette Early Career Chair and Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Megan McCain has been inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) for 2023.
McCain, who is also the associate chair of the Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering, was inducted into The AIMBE College of Fellows at a formal ceremony during the AIMBE Annual Event at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia on March 27, 2023.
McCain’s research focuses on utilizing “Organ on Chip” technology for human disease modeling and drug screening, with a specific focus on cardiac and skeletal muscle. Her work includes engineering microscale devices that can mimic the functions of human cardiac tissues, known as “Heart on a Chip.” For example, McCain uses this “heart on a chip” technology to study cardiac damage that occurs when a region of heart tissue is starved of oxygen post-heart attack.
In addition, McCain’s Laboratory for Living Systems Engineering developed a gelatin-based hydrogel platform that supports the growth of aligned and mature skeletal muscle in the lab, allowing researchers to better study how our muscles and neurons connect, which is crucial for understanding neuromuscular degeneration and disease.
“I am deeply honored to be elected into AIMBE by my peers,” McCain said. “I am inspired to lend my voice to their mission of scientific advocacy, diversity, and impact.”
McCain has previously received numerous high-level accolades for her research. She is a recipient of the Scientist Development Grant from the American Heart Association and has been recognized as a Top Innovator Under 35 by MIT Technology Review. McCain has also been a recipient of the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award.
AIMBE is a leading advocate for medical and biological engineering, uniting academic, industry, government, and scientific societies to create a highly influential community dedicated to advancing medical and biological engineering.
Being elected to the AIMBE College of Fellows is a prestigious distinction for medical and biological engineers and is regarded as one of the highest professional honors in the field. The College of Fellows comprises the top two percent of medical and biological engineers who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of engineering and medicine research, practice, or education. Fellows are those who pioneer new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education. AIMBE Fellows are renowned medical and biological engineers, with three Nobel Prize laureates and 17 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Science and/or Technology and Innovation among them.
Published on March 30th, 2023
Last updated on March 30th, 2023
