Boston University biomedical engineer Christopher Chen has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. The nonprofit institution, founded to provide objective advice to the US government, says membership “signifies the pinnacle of professional achievement and commitment to volunteer service.”
Chen is the founding director of BU’s Biological Design Center , which studies cells and biological systems with the goal of better controlling them to benefit human health and the environment. His research could lead to lifesaving new regenerative medicines to treat disease. The founder of three successful biomedical businesses, Chen was also recently named a National Academy of Inventors Fellow .
The National Academy of Medicine says Chen was elected for “pioneering contributions and leadership in cell and tissue engineering, particularly in the micro-nano-bio engineering of cell and tissue assembly, structure, mechanics, and function. By offering technical innovations motivated by biomedical questions, he has uncovered new dimensions by which cells sense and respond to local cues in their microenvironment.”
In 2022, Chen cofounded the biotechnology company Satellite Bio to develop tissue implants to repair or replace diseased organs; the start-up launched with $110 million in venture funding.
“I am humbled and honored to be joining the academy,” says Chen, Bosrsity’s William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering. “This distinction would not have been possible without the support and contributions from my loving family, generous mentors and colleagues, and inspiring trainees. I look forward to working with esteemed colleagues to continue to advance the future of healthcare to serve all of humanity at this most critical period in the history of medicine.”
The academy lists 10 other current inductees from Boston University or Boston Medical Center, the University’s primary teaching hospital. BU President Melissa Gilliam was elected in 2015.