Christine E. Schmidt, Ph.D., professor, J. Crayton Pruitt Family Chair and Department Chair, has been named President of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). Schmidt was inducted at AIMBE’s annual event held April 8-9, 2018 in Washington D.C.

Members of AIMBE’s College Fellows are nominated each year by their peers and represent the top 2% of the medical and biological engineering community. Since AIMBE’s inception, over 2,000 esteemed individuals have been inducted. AIMBE’s College consists of clinicians, industry professionals, academics and scientists, who have distinguished themselves through their contributions in research, industrial practice and/or education. Fundamental to their achievements is the common goal of embracing innovation to improve the healthcare and safety of society.

Schmidt earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She also earned her doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She conducted postdoctoral research at MIT as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, joining the University of Texas at Austin Chemical Engineering faculty.

Schmidt is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE) of the International Union of Societies of Biomaterials Science and Engineering.

Her research focuses on engineering novel materials and therapeutic systems to stimulate damaged peripheral and spinal neurons to regenerate. Taking a unique approach to this problem, she uses electrically conducting polymers and natural-based materials (e.g., hyaluronic acid-based biomaterials, decellularized tissues) to create therapies that can electrically, chemically, biologically and mechanically trigger neurons, at both the macroscopic and nanometer-scales.

Congratulations, Dr. Schmidt!