Citing important contributions to the development of multifunctional biomaterials and in broadening participation of minorities and women in STEM, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the election of Winston Soboyejo, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Provost and Senior Vice President to its College of Fellows. Soboyejo was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows, which comprises the top two percent of medical and biological engineers in the country.
AIMBE’s mission is to recognize excellence in, and advocate for, the fields of medical and biological engineering in order to advance society. The College of Fellows represent professionals who are regularly acknowledged for their contributions in teaching, research, and innovation and have successfully advocated for public policies that have enabled researchers and business-makers to further the interests of engineers, teachers, scientists, clinical practitioners, and ultimately, patients.
“I am extremely honored to be recognized by the AIMBE and to join such an accomplished group who are truly breaking new ground in the fields of medicine and biological innovations,” said Soboyejo. “Our continued commitment to research and education across the globe will have a lasting impact in addressing the challenges we face today and in the future.”
Soboyejo’s medical and biological research focuses on biomaterials and the use of nanoparticles for the detection and treatment of disease. Recent projects include the use of nanomaterials for targeting and treating cancer and a shear assay technique for the measurement of the mechanical properties of biological cells. His work in identifying drugs that reduced the sizes of hard-to-treat breast cancer tumors in mice without inducing the toxic side effects that are typically associated with conventional chemotherapy was published in Scientific Reports in May 2020.
Soboyejo has also made impressive contributions in building global research and educational partnerships. Under his guidance, WPI works collaboratively with stakeholders from 20 African countries and over 150 development partners from around the world to explore global best practices and develop strategies to improve STEM opportunities for students though the MS4SSA initiative. He has also helped implement an online learning institute with the goal of assisting African universities in restarting classes guided by WPI’s online delivery techniques. During the summer of 2020, 16 WPI faculty and staff trained over 3,500 participants from 109 universities across Africa. Soboyejo has also partnered with the Pan African Materials Institute (PAMI) and the African-led Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (PASET) to bring outstanding PhD scholars from Africa to WPI to further their research efforts.
Soboyejo is the author or co-author of four textbooks and nearly 400 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He has had over 180 presentations published in conference proceedings and has edited 20 conference proceedings and journal special issues.
The election to the College of Fellows of AIMBE follows Soboyejo’s honor of being named a member of National Academy of Engineering (NAE). He is also a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Materials Society of Nigeria, the Nigerian Academy of Science, and the African Academy of Science.
A formal induction ceremony to the AIMBE College of Fellows will be held during the Institute’s Annual Event on March 26. Soboyejo will be inducted along with 174 colleagues who make up the AIMBE Fellows Class of 2021. For more information about the AIMBE Annual Event, please visit www.aimbe.org.
