Jennifer L. West | |
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Academic background | |
Education | BSc, 1992, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ph.D., 1996, University of Texas at Austin |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Duke University Rice University |
Jennifer L. West is an American bioengineer. She is the current Dean of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia. She was the Fitzpatrick University Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University from 2012-2021. In 2000,West cofounded Nanospectra Biosciences in Houston to develop a cancer therapy based on gold nanoparticles that destroy tumor cells and has been listed by MIT Technology Review as one of the 100 most innovative young scientists and engineers world wide.
West graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992 [1] and completed her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin. [2]
West joined the faculty at Rice University after receiving her doctoral degree from the University of Texas–Austin in 1996. [3] As an associate professor in bioengineering and chemical engineering,West was awarded the 2002 Julia Mile Chance Prize for Excellence in Teaching. [4] The following year,she was again recognized for her academic achievement with the 2003 Charles W. Duncan Jr. Achievement Award for Outstanding Faculty [5] and listed by the MIT Technology Review as one of the 100 most innovative young scientists and engineers world wide. [6]
During her tenure at Rice,West worked in the areas of gene therapy,biomaterials and tissue engineering alongside Naomi Halas. In 2000,Halas and West co-founded Nanospectra Biosciences in Houston to develop a cancer therapy based on gold nanoparticles that destroy tumor cells. [7] They were co-recipients of the Best Discovery of 2003 Award from Nanotechnology Now for their "groundbreaking work to develop a cancer therapy based on metallic nanoshells." [8] West and Halas were later honored by the YMCA as 2005 Outstanding Women of Achievement in Science and Technology. [3] They followed up their nanoshells research in 2005 by developing a new approach to fighting cancer through targeted nanoparticles. [9] The pair then developed a small beacon that was programmed to light up only when activated by specific proteases. [10]
As a result of her academic accomplishments,West earned a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to "develop national model programs that infuse undergraduate teaching with cutting-edge research." [11] She was also appointed chair of the Department of Bioengineering while continuing to serve as the Isabel C. Cameron Professor of Bioengineering and director of Rice’s Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering. [12] In 2009,West and her colleagues at the Texas Medical Center were asked to create a putty-like material that can be packed around broken bones on the battlefield to reduce complications from compound fractures. [13] David Leebron praised West as "a scholar and researcher,one who pushes the limits of knowledge and discovery in the lab while always remaining focused on the purpose and potential of her scientific discoveries to improve our lives." [14] For her overall "pioneering research in biomaterials engineering and advancing the fields of tissue engineering and bionanotechnology," West was the recipient of an O’Donnell Award [15] and State Bar Inventors of the Year. [16]
Using a grant from the National Institutes of Health for an investigation into neurovascular tissue regeneration in 2011,West and researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine found they could regenerate tissue in parts of the brain when it dies and withers after a stroke. [17] In 2012,West received numerous accolades for her work including the Frank Annunzio Award,Duncan Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement,Admiral of the Texas Navy,Hershel M. Rich Invention Award,and CAREER Award. She was also elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Society. [2]
In 2013,West left Rice University to accept a position as the Fitzpatrick Family University Professor of Engineering at the Duke University (Duke). [18] Prior to accepting the appointment,Duke sent architects to Rice so they could design a facility that could properly house her and her research group. [19] During her first year in this role,her research team discovered that they could destroy soft-tissue tumors by injecting gold-covered nanoshells. [20] Following this,she improved on her design by adding an extremely thin layer of hydrogels to the surface that,when heated,lose their water content and release any molecules trapped within. [21]
West and her colleagues created the Retroject RJT1125 in 2014,a device that stabilizes the eyeball and allows a glaucoma drug to be injected into the veins near the iris. Afterwards,she began using nanoparticles to make the injection last longer. [22] Two years later,West was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for "developments in photothermal and theranostic therapies and bioabsorbed scaffolds for tissue regeneration." [23] In December 2016,West was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors for "translating this scholarship in tangible ways to positively influence medicine." [24]
Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials and biological devices,to nanoelectronic biosensors,and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology such as biological machines. Current problems for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related to toxicity and environmental impact of nanoscale materials.
Naomi J. Halas is the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering,and professor of biomedical engineering,chemistry and physics at Rice University. She is also the founding director of Rice University Laboratory for Nanophotonics,and the Smalley-Curl Institute. She invented the first nanoparticle with tunable plasmonic resonances,which are controlled by their shape and structure,and has won numerous awards for her pioneering work in the field of nanophotonics and plasmonics. She was also part of a team that developed the first dark pulse soliton in 1987 while working for IBM.
A nanoshell,or rather a nanoshell plasmon,is a type of spherical nanoparticle consisting of a dielectric core which is covered by a thin metallic shell. These nanoshells involve a quasiparticle called a plasmon which is a collective excitation or quantum plasma oscillation where the electrons simultaneously oscillate with respect to all the ions.
The enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect is a controversial concept by which molecules of certain sizes tend to accumulate in tumor tissue much more than they do in normal tissues. The general explanation that is given for this phenomenon is that,in order for tumor cells to grow quickly,they must stimulate the production of blood vessels. VEGF and other growth factors are involved in cancer angiogenesis. Tumor cell aggregates as small as 150–200 μm,start to become dependent on blood supply carried out by neovasculature for their nutritional and oxygen supply. These newly formed tumor vessels are usually abnormal in form and architecture. They are poorly aligned defective endothelial cells with wide fenestrations,lacking a smooth muscle layer,or innervation with a wider lumen,and impaired functional receptors for angiotensin II. Furthermore,tumor tissues usually lack effective lymphatic drainage. All of these factors lead to abnormal molecular and fluid transport dynamics,especially for macromolecular drugs. This phenomenon is referred to as the "enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect" of macromolecules and lipids in solid tumors. The EPR effect is further enhanced by many pathophysiological factors involved in enhancement of the extravasation of macromolecules in solid tumor tissues. For instance,bradykinin,nitric oxide / peroxynitrite,prostaglandins,vascular permeability factor,tumor necrosis factor and others. One factor that leads to the increased retention is the lack of lymphatics around the tumor region which would filter out such particles under normal conditions.
Photothermal therapy (PTT) refers to efforts to use electromagnetic radiation for the treatment of various medical conditions,including cancer. This approach is an extension of photodynamic therapy,in which a photosensitizer is excited with specific band light. This activation brings the sensitizer to an excited state where it then releases vibrational energy (heat),which is what kills the targeted cells.
Sangeeta N. Bhatia is an American biological engineer and the John J. and Dorothy Wilson Professor at MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge,Massachusetts,United States. Bhatia's research investigates applications of micro- and nano-technology for tissue repair and regeneration. She applies ideas from computer technology and engineering to the design of miniaturized biomedical tools for the study and treatment of diseases,in particular liver disease,hepatitis,malaria and cancer.
Multiple layered plasmonics use electronically responsive media to change and manipulate the plasmonic properties of plasmons. The properties typically being manipulated can include the directed scattering of light and light absorption. The use of these to use “changeable”plasmonics is currently undergoing development in the academic community by allowing them to have multiple sets of functions that are dependent on how they are being manipulated or excited. Under these new manipulations,such as multiple layers that respond to different resonant frequencies,their new functions were designed to accomplish multiple objectives in a single application.
George Alexander Truskey is an American biomedical engineer noted for his research on transport phenomena in biological systems,cardiovascular tissue engineering,and cell adhesion to natural and synthetic surfaces.
Ravi V. Bellamkonda is an Indian-American biomedical engineer and academic administrator. Since 2021,he has served as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Emory University in Atlanta,Georgia. Bellamkonda was previously Vinik Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University.
Hadiyah-Nicole Green is an American medical physicist,known for the development of a method using laser-activated nanoparticles as a potential cancer treatment. She is one of 66 black women to earn a Ph.D. in physics in the United States between 1973 and 2012,and is the second black woman and the fourth black person ever to earn a doctoral degree in physics from The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Rebecca Richards-Kortum is an American bioengineer and the Malcolm Gillis University Professor at Rice University. She is a professor in the departments of Bioengineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering,and she is the Director of Rice 360°:Institute for Global Health,and the Founder of Beyond Traditional Borders. She is the Director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering,and serves as the advisor to the Provost on health-related research.
Katie Jane Grande-Allen is an American bioengineer currently the Isabel C. Cameron Professor at Rice University. She is currently chair of the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University. Her research focuses on an engineering approach to heart disease.
Kathryn Radabaugh Nightingale is an American biomedical engineer in the field of medical ultrasound. She is the Theo Pilkington Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University in Durham,North Carolina. Nightingale is also a Member of the Duke Cancer Institute and Bass Fellow in the Duke University Pratt School of Engineering.
Debra Auguste is an American chemical engineer and professor at Northeastern University in the department of chemical engineering. Auguste is dedicated to developing treatments for triple negative breast cancer,one of the most aggressive and fatal cancers that disproportionately affects African American women. Her lab characterizes biomarkers of triple negative breast cancer and develops novel biocompatible therapeutic technologies to target and destroy metastatic cancer cells. Auguste received the 2012 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and in 2010 was named in the 50 Most Influential African-Americans in Technology. In 2020,Auguste became an Elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.
Emily S. Day is an American biomedical engineer. She is an associate professor at the University of Delaware where her research team engineers nanoparticles to enable high precision therapy of diseases including cancers,blood disorders,and maternal/fetal health complications.
Jennifer Kehlet Barton is an American biomedical engineer who is Director of the BIO5 Institute at the University of Arizona. Barton develops optical techniques for the detection and treatment of cancer.
Erika Moore Taylor is a biomedical engineer,scientist,assistant professor,"Forbes 30 under 30 honoree," financial advisor,and the founder of a scholarship program that has been featured on CNBC.
Rizia Bardhan is an Indian origin American biomolecular engineer who is an Associate Professor of Chemical &Biological Engineering at Iowa State University. She is Associate Editor of ACS Applied Materials &Interfaces.
Cynthia "Cindy" Reinhart-King is an American biomedical engineer who is a University Distinguished Professor at Vanderbilt University. Her research considers cell motility and adhesion. She serves as president of the Biomedical Engineering Society.
Claudia Fischbach is a German biophysicist who is the Stanley Bryer 1946 Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. She is Director of the Cornell Physical Sciences Oncology Centre on the Physics of Cancer Metabolism.