Biomaterials Science

recognizing leaders in science and technology from the research, business and policy fields. In 2011 he was awarded the Society for Biomaterials Clemson Award for Applied Research, in 2012 he received the Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award from the University of Pittsburgh and in 2013 he received the TERMIS Senior Scientist Award. Dr. Wagner's research interests are generally in the area of cardiovascular engineering with projects that address medical device biocompatibility and design, hypothesis-driven biomaterials development, tissue engineering, and targeted imaging. Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert, PhD
Professor of Biomedical Engineering & Associate Chair for Graduate Studies
Washington University
Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert joined the faculty in Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in 2000, where she is currently a professor of Biomedical Engineering and the Associate Chair for Graduate Studies.

Her research focuses on developing biomaterials for drug delivery and cell transplantation for the treatment of peripheral nerve and spinal cord injury. She has written 5 book chapters and over 60 articles in peer-reviewed journals. She has 8 U.S. patents and 2 patent applications submitted. Her research is funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute of Health. Previously, she received early career awards from the Whitaker Foundation and the WH Coulter Foundation. She is currently on the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS): Americas Council and served on the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Board of Directors from 2009-2012. She joined the College of Fellows for the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2011 and was elected a fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society in 2013.

Her other professional service includes serving as an associate editor for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, a member of the Editorial Board of Acta Biomaterialia, member of the Long Range Planning Committee for the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) (2003-05), and serving as a standing member of the Biomaterials/ Biointerfaces (BMBI) study section for the NIH (2010- 2013). She served as chair for the 2013 Gordon Research Conference on Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering. She is currently the co-president of the Association of Women Faculty and served as a provost faculty fellow from 2012-2013. Guigen Zhang, PhD
Professor, Clemson University
Dr. Zhang began his academic career at Tongji University (Shanghai, China) in 1987. After his doctoral and postdoctoral trainings, he resumed his research career at Northwestern University in Illinois. Before joining Clemson University in fall of 2008, Dr. Zhang was an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia where he pioneered a bio-micro/nanotechnology program. Dr. Zhang has served as major professor to six doctoral students and two master students. All of his doctoral graduates are pursuing research careers in academia (e.g., Stanford, UIUC) and in industries (e.g., IBM, COMSOL). He also served on graduate advisory committees for another three doctoral students and two master students. He has mentored three postdoctoral fellows and numerous undergraduate students. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Engineering and is an education editor for the Biomaterials Forum. Dr. Zhang has served as PI on several NIH and NSF grants and participated in the NIH study sessions and NSF review panels numerous times in the areas of biotechnology and nanotechnology covering topics such as chip based sensors, sensors and detectors for environmental monitoring, nanoscale drug delivery, and MEMS and NEMS devices. Michael Yaszemski, PhD, MD
Professor of Orthopaedics and Bioengineering & Director of the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory, Mayo Clinic
Dr. Yaszemski is a Professor of Orthopaedics and Bioengineering at the Mayo Clinic, and the Director of the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory. His clinical practice encompasses spinal surgery and sacropelvic tumor surgery. His research interests are in the synthesis and characterization of novel degradable polymers for use in bone regeneration, spinal cord regeneration via tissue engineering strategies, and controlled local drug delivery to musculoskeletal tumors.