Three Northeastern professors have received one of the highest honors in their field from the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Guohao Dai, Aileen Huang-Saad and Srinivas Sridhar have been elected to the AIMBE College of Fellows, which draws from the upper 2% of medical and biological engineers. 

The Northeastern trio join a select group that includes three Nobel Prize laureates and 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Science and/or Technology and Innovation. The College of Fellows comprises more than 2,000 medical and biological engineering leaders who have made transformative contributions in academia, industry, government and education.

The Northeastern fellows spoke of the honor as an opportunity to invest in the higher calling of their fields.

Dai, an associate professor of bioengineering at Northeastern, was elected for contributions in vascular mechanobiology as well as 3D bioprinting vascular networks for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications, AIMBE said.

Dai expressed gratitude to his mentors, colleagues, collaborators and students over the years—and vowed to turn their support into action.

“AIMBE Fellow is not only an honor, but also a responsibility,” Dai said. “The future of medical and biological engineering relies on our collective voice to Congress and our nation’s policymakers. Never has it been more important to join AIMBE in standing up for science. 

“As an AIMBE Fellow, I will have more opportunity to give back to society, to communicate with U.S. and state government agencies, Congress, industry, academia and professional societies, to contribute public policy advancing science and engineering for the benefit of society, and to inspire and educate young people who will be the future leaders of medical and biological engineering.”

Huang-Saad, a Northeastern associate professor of bioengineering and director of Life Science and Engineering Programs at the Roux Institute, was honored by AIMBE for “outstanding contributions to development of [biomedical engineering] entrepreneurship education microenvironments and studying their impact on the engagement of diverse populations.”

“For me, this induction speaks to the growing recognition that equitable innovation education plays a critical role in the development of our medical and biological workforce,” Huang said. “My career has been dedicated to empowering STEM students and professionals with a voice to advocate for the solutions they are developing—to be able to take this passion to AIMBE and its constituents is both an honor and exciting.”

Sridhar is director of the Nanomedicine Innovation Center and Nanomedicine Academy at Northeastern as well as a Distinguished University Professor of Physics. He was cited by AIMBE for “outstanding contributions to nanotechnologies for imaging and drug delivery, developing new training programs and broadening participation in nanomedicine.”

“Being elected fellow of this prestigious engineering institute is an honor and satisfying recognition by peers of my contributions to nanomedicine research and to developing new educational programs providing pathways to higher education for diverse student populations,” Sridhar said. “All of the work that was recognized was performed at Northeastern University and is a testament to the terrific academic environment here and the talented students and researchers I have been privileged to work with.”

Ian Thomsen is a Northeastern Global News reporter. Email him at i.thomsen@northeastern.edu. Follow him on Twitter @IanatNU.