Congratulations Are In Order!

We are pleased to recognize the election in 2012 of a number of members of the Life Sciences Initiative leadership team as Fellows of The International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE). Congratulations to Bin He, Jose Principe, and Nitish Thakor! Also, congratulations to Zhi-Pei Liang, who is President of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.

The IAMBE is made up of fellows who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the profession of medical and biological engineering. Election to the Academy is initiated by nominations which are screened by the membership committee of the Academy. The election is conducted by a vote of all Fellows of the Academy.

While we are at it, another congratulation is extended to Bin He! As seen in the following letter, he has been appointed director of the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM).

Dear Colleagues,
Bin He, Ph.D., has been named director of the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM). He will assume the role on August 15, 2012. The appointment is a five-year position. He, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor and professor of biomedical engineering within the College of Science and Engineering, had previously served as associate director for research within the IEM, a role he has held since 2010. “The University of Minnesota has world renowned biomedical and engineering faculty and has made very significant contributions to the fields interfacing engineering and medicine,” said He. “I am honored and privileged to provide stewardship for the IEM as we further enhance interdisciplinary collaborations among engineers, biomedical scientists, clinicians, and our industrial colleagues as we position the University and state of Minnesota as the place for engineering the future of medicine.” IEM is an interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at strengthening research between engineering and medicine at the University of Minnesota. The Institute is run jointly by the Academic Health Center and the College of Science and Engineering. The Medical Devices Center, Center for Neuroengineering and Biopreservation Core Resource (BioCoR) are all research centers within IEM. As health care evolves, engineering technology will yield new approaches for managing illness more efficiently, more safely and with fewer side effects. To accomplish these goals, a medical perspective is critical, and the IEM provides a platform for medical and engineering partnerships that will bring new solutions and collaborative opportunities to the regional medical device industry. Since 2005, the IEM has invested more than $5 million supporting more than 90 health engineering research projects. These projects have helped generate ideas and proposals that have brought nearly $24 million in additional funding to the University from external sources. He is well positioned to lead the IEM in its efforts moving forward. Since January 2004, in addition to his faculty appointment as professor of biomedical engineering, electrical engineering and neuroscience, He has acted as director of the Biomedical Functional Imaging and Neuroengineering Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. He also serves as director of the Center for Neuroengineering, director of the NSF IGERT Neuroengineering Training Program and director of the NIH Neuroimaging Training Program. His research interests include functional biomedical imaging, neuroengineering, cardiovascular engineering, and biomedical instrumentation.
-Aaron Frieman, M.D., Dean, Medical School