Mikos gets top honors from Biomedical Engineering Society

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Mikos gets top honors from Biomedical Engineering Society
Rice scientist gets coveted Distinguished Scientist and Lecturer Award

Antonios G. Mikos, the John W. Cox Professor of Bioengineering and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Rice University, has received the prestigious Distinguished Scientist and Lecturer Award for 2007 from the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).

"This lectureship is awarded each year to recognize outstanding achievements and leadership in the science and practice of biomedical engineering. This is one of the highest honors bestowed upon a BMES member," said Barbara Dunlavey, executive director of the BMES.

Mikos’ research interests include biomaterials, drug delivery, gene therapy, and tissue engineering. Among other projects, Mikos and his colleagues are investigating bone regeneration and repair using a biodegradable polymer scaffold, and are synthesizing new materials that simulate the mechanical responsiveness and biochemical processing abilities of living cells and tissues.

Mikos is director of the Center for Excellence in Tissue Engineering at Rice. He joined the Rice faculty as the T.N. Law Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering in 1992. He was promoted to associate professor in 1996 and to professor in 1999.

Mikos graduated in chemical engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1983, and in 1988 received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Purdue University. In 1990-91, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School. He holds 16 patents, has authored more than 300 articles, and is a founding editor of the journal Tissue Engineering .

Mikos will formally receive the award at the annual meeting of the BMES in October 2007. At that time, he will deliver a plenary lecture, the text of which will be published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering .

The BMES, based in Landover, Maryland, was formed in 1968 to give "equal status to representatives of both biomedical and engineering interests and promote the increase of biomedical engineering knowledge and its utilization." Current membership includes 1,200 professional biomedical engineers and 1,600 student members.