Linda Griffith

Last updated
Linda Griffith
Linda Griffith at The Company of Biologists.jpg
Griffith in 2018
Born(1960-08-30)August 30, 1960
Atlanta, Georgia
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Georgia Institute of Technology;
University of California, Berkeley
Spouse Doug Lauffenburger
Awards MacArthur Fellowship
Scientific career
FieldsBiomedical Engineering
Institutions Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Website lgglab.mit.edu

Linda Gay Griffith (born August 30, 1960 Atlanta, Georgia) is an American biological engineer, and Professor of Biological Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she also directs the Center for Gynepathology Research.

Contents

She is a 2006 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, commonly referred to as the "MacArthur genius award." [1]

In 2011, Griffith was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for contributions to 3D functional biomaterials, engineered hepatic tissues, and cell transplant devices. In 2021, she was elected into the National Academy of Medicine for "long-standing leadership in research, education, and medical translation; for pioneering work in tissue engineering, biomaterials, and systems biology, including developing the first “liver chip” technology; inventing 3D biomaterials printing and organotypic models for systems gynopathology; and for the establishment of the MIT Biological Engineering Department." [2]

Life

She was raised in Decatur, Valdosta, and Roswell, Georgia. She graduated with a B.ChE. in 1982 from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she was a writer and editor on the undergraduate newspaper, The Technique, in 1982, and was named a distinguished alumna of her alma mater's School of Engineering in 2006. She received a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1988. [3] [4] She joined the MIT faculty in 1991, was promoted to associate professor of chemical engineering in 1996, and to tenure in chemical engineering in 1998, the same year she joined the newly formed Division of Biological Engineering and Environmental Health at MIT. [5] As an assistant professor, she joined a collaboration with Charles Vacanti and Joseph Upton to create tissue engineered cartilage in the shape of a human ear (published under the surname used in her first marriage), known as the Vacanti mouse. [6] The Griffith Lab at MIT currently focuses on molecular biomaterials and tissue engineering approaches for regenerative medicine, drug development and understanding disease pathophysiology. [7]

In 1994, together with colleagues Roger Kamm and Alan Grodzinsky, she led development of MIT's first interdepartmental minor degree, in biomedical engineering, which was launched in 1995 and soon became MIT's most popular minor degree. [8] The interdepartmental bioengineering curriculum committee she chaired grew into the Undergraduate Programs Committee for the Department of Biological Engineering, and as chair of this committee she led development of the undergraduate major in Biological Engineering, launched in 2005 as MIT's first new undergraduate major in 39 years. [9] She stepped down as chair of this committee in 2009 to spend a fellowship year at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, [4] sponsored by the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.

She currently holds the School of Engineering Teaching Innovation Chair in recognition of her contributions to curriculum development at MIT. Furthermore, she is the co-founder of CN Bio Innovations and serves on the advisory board of Lumicell. She is married to Doug Lauffenburger, also a professor at MIT.

Women's health research

Griffith currently directs the Center for Gynepathology Research (CGR) at MIT, which she launched in 2009 together with Keith Isaacson, Director of the Newton-Wellesley Hospital Center for Minimally Invasive Gynecology Surgery. The public launch featured a passionate talk by the celebrity host of Bravo's Top Chef, Padma Lakshmi, who suffered for over a decade with endometriosis before being diagnosed. Lakshmi co-founded the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA) to raise awareness of the disease, especially among college students. [10] Lakshmi's experience underscored that of Griffith's own 16-year-old niece, who was diagnosed with endometriosis after suffering years of debilitating pain, which had been attributed to "stress" instead of to a treatable disease. [11] The average delay between onset of symptoms and diagnosis of endometriosis is about ten years; Griffith's niece was diagnosed with less delay only because a family member with the disease insisted she see a gynecological surgeon who specializes in treating endometriosis. The CGR now has over 10 participating faculty at MIT and collaborates with surgeons and scientists in Brazil, Singapore, and across the US. Griffith was honored at the EFA's annual Blossom Ball in NYC in 2010 for her efforts to raise awareness about endometriosis among scientists and engineers. [12]

Selected awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert S. Langer</span> American scientist

Robert Samuel Langer Jr. FREng is an American biotechnologist, businessman, chemical engineer, chemist, and inventor. He is one of the twelve Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biological engineering</span> Application of biology and engineering to create useful products

Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number of pure and applied sciences, such as mass and heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysts, biomechanics, bioinformatics, separation and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science. It is used in the design of medical devices, diagnostic equipment, biocompatible materials, renewable energy, ecological engineering, agricultural engineering, process engineering and catalysis, and other areas that improve the living standards of societies.

Peter W. Zandstra, is a Canadian scientist who is the Director of the Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cato T. Laurencin</span> American surgeon

Cato T. Laurencin FREng SLMH is an American engineer, physician, scientist, innovator and a University Professor of the University of Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas A. Peppas</span> Greek chemical and biomedical engineer (b. 1948)

Nicholas (Nikolaos) A. Peppas is a chemical and biomedical engineer whose leadership in biomaterials science and engineering, drug delivery, bionanotechnology, pharmaceutical sciences, chemical and polymer engineering has provided seminal foundations based on the physics and mathematical theories of nanoscale, macromolecular processes and drug/protein transport and has led to numerous biomedical products or devices.

Kristi S. Anseth is the Tisone Distinguished Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, an Associate Professor of Surgery, and a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her main research interests are the design of synthetic biomaterials using hydrogels, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine.

David James Mooney is Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He is also a founding core faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic</span> Serbian American engineer

Gordana Vunjak-NovakovicFRSC is a Serbian American biomedical engineer and university professor. She is a University Professor at Columbia University, as well as the Mikati Foundation Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medical Sciences. She also heads the laboratory for Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering at Columbia University. She is part of the faculty at the Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Center for Human Development, both found at Columbia University. She is also an honorary professor at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy at the University of Belgrade, an honorary professor at the University of Novi Sad, and an adjunct professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University.

<i>Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society</i> Academic journal

Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society is an international learned society dedicated to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Mario Moisés Álvarez is a Mexican researcher. He was a visiting professor at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technologies, at the Brigham Women's Hospital of the Harvard Medical School, in Cambridge Massachusetts (2014-2017). He also collaborated as a visiting professor in the Microsystems Technology Laboratories at MIT (2015-2016). Álvarez conducted research at the BIRC in the areas of Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials, and Microfluidics. Today, Mario Moisés Álvarez is a full professor at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies, specializing in biomedical and biopharmaceutical engineering. His work has been recognized by Level III membership in Mexico's Sistema Nacional de Investigadores, a permanent membership in the AMC, two granted US patents and twelve granted Mexican patents. He received the Rómulo Garza Insignia Award in 2017, the most prestigious research award from his institution, Tecnológico de Monterrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravi V. Bellamkonda</span>

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.

William Mark Saltzman was named the Goizueta Foundation Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Yale University on July 1, 2002 and became the founding chair of Yale's Department of Biomedical Engineering in 2003. Saltzman's research aims to promote new methods for drug delivery and develop new biotechnologies to combat human disease. A pioneer in the fields of biomaterials, nanobiotechnology, and tissue engineering, Saltzman has contributed to the design and implementation of a number of clinical technologies that have become essential to medical practice today. His popular course Frontiers of Biomedical Engineering is available to everyone through Open Yale Courses.

Irene Rena Bizios is an American bioengineer. She is the Peter Flawn Professor at University of Texas at San Antonio and the Lutcher Brown Chair Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Bizios is an Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Inventors, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Her current interests are cellular and tissue engineering, biocompability and tissue-biomaterial relationships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Elisseeff</span> Professor of biomedical engineering

Jennifer Hartt Elisseeff is an American biomedical engineer, ophthalmologist and academic. She is the Morton Goldberg Professor and Director of the Translational Tissue Engineering Center at Johns Hopkins Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Wilmer Eye Institute with appointments in Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Orthopedic Surgery. Elisseeff's research is in the fields of regenerative medicine and immunoengineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Wong</span> American engineer and professor

Joyce Y. Wong is an American engineer who is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at Boston University. Her research develops novel biomaterials for the early detection treatment of disease. Wong is the Inaugural Director of the Provost's Initiative to promote gender equality and inclusion in STEM at all levels: Advance, Recruit, Retain and Organize Women in STEM. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Society.

Douglas A. Lauffenburger is an American academic who is the Ford Professor of Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a member of the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and MIT Center for Gynepathology Research as well as an Affiliate, The Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard. He is also editor in chief of the journal Integrative Biology.

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.

Shelly R. Peyton is an American chemical engineer who is the Armstrong Professional Development Professor in the Department of CHemical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research considers the development of biomaterials to investigate metastatic cancer and potential new therapies.

Elizabeth Cosgriff-Hernandez is an American biomedical engineer who is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Her work involves the development of polymeric biomaterials for medical devices and tissue regeneration. She also serves on the scientific advisory board of ECM Biosurgery and as a consultant to several companies on biostability evaluation of medical devices. Cosgriff-Hernandez is an associate editor of the Journal of Materials Chemistry B and Fellow of the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Melissa Ann Grunlan is an American scientist and academic. She is Professor and Holder of the Charles H. and Bettye Barclay Professorship in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University. She holds courtesy appointments in the Departments of Chemistry and Materials Science & Engineering. Her research focuses on the development of polymeric biomaterials for regenerative engineering and medical devices.

References

  1. 1 2 "Linda Griffith". MacArthur Foundation . Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  2. "National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 New Members". National Academy of Medicine. 18 October 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  3. "Linda G. Griffith". The Griffith Lab. Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "2009 HSCI Radcliffe Fellow to use tissue engineering and systems biology to study endometriosis". 2009.
  5. "Lauffenburger, Tannenbaum named co-directors of BEH | MIT News". MIT. September 16, 1998.
  6. Vacanti, C.A., Cima (Griffith), L.G., Rodkowski, D., and Upton, J., "Tissue engineering of new cartilage in the shape of a human ear using specially configured polymers seeded with chondrocytes," MRS Proceedings, vol. 252 (1992).
  7. "Endometriosis.org: The Global Forum". swhr.org. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  8. Robert C. Di Iorio (April 26, 1995). "Faculty approves minor in biomedical engineering | MIT News". MIT.
  9. Anne Trafton (June 2, 2008). "Wave of the future: MIT to graduate first class of biological engineering majors | MIT News". MIT.
  10. Anne Trafton (December 8, 2009). "Reporter's Notebook: Breaking the silence". MIT. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  11. "Linda Griffith". MIT. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  12. "Endometriosis | Blossom Ball | 2010 | Endometriosis Event | endofound.org". Endometriosis Foundation of America. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  13. List of Georgia Governor's Honors Program alumni
  14. "Linda Griffith, Ph.D." AIMBE. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  15. "Class of 1960 Fellows". MIT. September 29, 1999.
  16. "Popular Science". The Popular Science Monthly. Bonnier Corporation: 10. ISSN   0161-7370.
  17. "Society for Biomaterials Past Awardees". Society for Biomaterials (SFB). Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  18. "ORWH Celebrates Two Decades of Women's Health Research" (PDF). ORWH. November 26, 2010. p. 6.
  19. "BMES FELLOWS". Biomedical Engineering Society. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  20. "Professor Linda Gay Griffith". National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  21. "Five with MIT ties elected to the National Academy of Medicine for 2021". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved October 20, 2021.