Sangeeta N. Bhatia (born June 24, 1968) is an inventor, professor, and entrepreneur uniquely trained as both a physician and an engineer. She is a prominent figure at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she holds multiple distinguished appointments and directs cutting-edge research, and is the first female physician-scientist in history to be an elected member of all five National Academies in the U.S.
Beyond her research and academic roles, Bhatia is the Founding Director of the MIT Faculty Founder Initiative. This initiative is dedicated to increasing the representation of MIT faculty members, particularly women, who launch biotechnology companies, addressing a significant gender gap in biotech entrepreneurship.
Bhatia has been a member of Brown University's Board of Trustees since 2015, serving as a fellow since 2019 and currently chairing academic affairs.[1] She also serves on the Board of Directors of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, where she chairs the science and technology committee. She has presented her vision for applying engineering solutions to medical problems on international stages such as the World Economic Forum, TED, the Gates Foundation Global Grand Challenges, and the Cancer Moonshot.
Research and Impact
Bhatia leverages miniaturization tools drawn from the computer industry to drive medical innovation. Her groundbreaking work has broad applications in cancer, liver, and infectious diseases, leading to significant advancements in early disease detection, human disease modeling, tissue regeneration, cell transplantation, and the development of cancer therapeutics.[2]
Bhatia's doctoral work laid the foundation for keeping liver cells functional outside the human body. By adapting techniques from computer chip design and photolithography, she microfabricated substrates that support the growth and function of 2D and 3D human liver cells in a lab dish. This led to the invention of the "microliver," a miniature model organ that revolutionized the efficient testing of drug reactions.[2][3][4] It is now used globally by companies to evaluate drug efficacy and predict toxic side effects. Further research in her lab, including the use of 3D printing to create synthetic vascular systems, aims to develop larger tissue structures with the ultimate goal of an artificial human liver. This foundational work was among the first at MIT in the area of biological micro-electromechanical systems (Bio-MEMS).
The LMRT continues to apply micro- and nanotechnology to tissue repair and regeneration, studying the interactions between hepatocytes (liver cells) and their microenvironment. This work improves cellular therapies for liver disease, maximizes hepatocyte function, and enhances the understanding of liver physiology and pathophysiology. Her research has been instrumental in studying diseases like hepatitis and malaria. In collaboration with Christopher Chen at Boston University, Bhatia's lab developed human microlivers that can be transplanted, vascularized, and survive in vivo, offering potential curative therapies for both heritable and acquired liver diseases.[5]
Cancer and Infectious Diseases
A significant area of LMRT's work involves developing nanomaterials as tools for biological studies and as multifunctional agents for cancer therapies. This includes designing nanoparticles and nanoporous materials that can home in on tumors, signal cellular changes, enhance imaging, or deliver therapeutic components. Early work in 2002, with Erkki Ruoslahti, involved developing phage-derived peptide-targeted nanomaterials for in vivo tumor targeting.[3][6][7] More recently, Bhatia, in collaboration with Erkki Ruoslahti and Michael Sailor, has explored engineering beneficial probiotics to detect or treat cancer cells.[2]
For over a decade, LMRT has pioneered new technologies in activity-based diagnostics.[8] This includes designing nanosensors with biological molecules, such as peptide barcodes, that can signal the presence of diseases like cancer when interacting with aberrantly active enzymes (proteases) in diseased tissue.[9] These specialized nanoparticles allow for detection via simple tests on urine similar to an at-home pregnancy test,[10] breath,[11][12] or blood samples.[13] This platform has expanded to detect 12 diseases, including 6 cancer types.[14] Nanosensors can be administered via inhalation,[12] intramuscular injection,[15] and even ingested in the form of probiotic bacteria.[16][17][18] The LMRT is also exploring breath-based diagnostics for rapid results and has developed diagnostic tools that use DNA barcodes and CRISPR technology,[19] making cancer diagnostics more affordable and accessible for low- and middle-resource settings.
Early life and education
Sangeeta Bhatia was born in 1968 in Boston, Massachusetts, to parents who emigrated from India. She is an alumna of Lexington High School in Lexington, MA. Her father was an engineer and entrepreneur, and her mother was one of the first women to receive an MBA in India. Bhatia's interest in engineering was sparked during her 10th-grade biology class and a visit with her father to an MIT lab, where she witnessed a demonstration of an ultrasound machine for cancer treatment.[20]
She pursued bioengineering at Brown University, where her involvement in a research group studying artificial organs solidified her decision to pursue graduate studies in the field.[21] After graduating with honors in 1990,[22] Bhatia was initially rejected from the MD-PhD program run by the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) but was accepted into the Mechanical Engineering Master's program. She was subsequently accepted into the HST MD-PhD program, where she was advised by Mehmet Toner. She received her Ph.D. in 1997 and her M.D. in 1999, followed by postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital.[20][22] Bhatia met her husband, Jagesh Shah, as classmates in HST. Shah is currently an executive in the biotechnology industry. They have two daughters.
Bhatia is a prolific inventor,[33] holding more than 65 issued or pending patents for clinical and biotechnological applications of engineering principles over twenty years. Her entrepreneurial ventures include:
In 2008, she co-founded Hepregen, based on her microliver technology for drug testing.[34] Hepregen was acquired by BioIVT in 2018.
In 2015, Bhatia spun off Glympse Bio based on her activity-based nanosensor technology.[35] Glympse Bio received significant funding to advance "activity sensors" for diagnosis and therapy selection, completing safety studies in human volunteers before merging with Sunbird Bio in 2023.[36]
Bhatia is a passionate advocate for gender equity and inclusivity in STEM fields.[37] She co-founded the MIT Faculty Founders Initiative with MIT Professor and President Emerita Susan Hockfield and MIT Amgen Professor of Biology Emerita Nancy Hopkins. This initiative aims to address the significant disparity in the number of female academics in science and engineering who become entrepreneurs. Their research revealed that women had founded less than 10% of the 250 biotech startups created by MIT professors, despite women comprising 22% of the MIT faculty.[38] Her dedication to diversity extends to:
Co-founding KEYs (Keys to Empowering Youth), a program that brings middle-school girls to visit high-tech labs to encourage their interest in science and technology.[39]
Bhatia's advocacy and groundbreaking work have made her a public figure, featured in diverse media. She has been named one of Fast Company's Most Creative People (2014) and a Foreign Policy's leading global thinker. Her inspiring story has been featured on TV Nova Science Now, in the film Picture a Scientist, and in various books and podcasts. She's even been rendered as a LEGO minifigure and recognized among Vogue India's Incredible Women, showcasing her broad impact and visibility. Bhatia and her over 85 trainees have contributed to more than 230 peer-reviewed scientific papers and more than 65 issued or pending patents over twenty years. As of 2025, Bhatia has launched 8 biotechnology companies at the intersection of medicine and miniaturization. About three-quarter of her former postdoctoral trainees are current academic faculty members (half of which are already tenured), while a quarter of her 39 Ph.D. graduates are academic faculty members and another quarter hold Director or C-suite roles in biotech and pharma companies.[40] Notably, about half of her graduate and post-graduate trainees in the past decade have identified as female. She has mentored a next generation of academic faculty in nanomedicine and bioengineering at institutions worldwide. Notable alumni from her lab include:
Amit Agrawal, Chief Scientific Officer, Diagnostics Platform, Danaher
As a prolific inventor and passionate advocate for diversity in science and engineering, Bhatia has received numerous prestigious honors. She is the first female physician-scientist in history to be an elected member of all five national academies in the U.S.:
Bhatia is also a Foreign Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.[41] Other notable awards include:
Lemelson-MIT Prize (2014) – known as the "Oscar for inventors", for groundbreaking inventions and dedication to the next generation of scientists.[42]
Heinz Award for Technology (2015) – for groundbreaking inventions and advocacy for women in STEM fields.[43]
Othmer Gold Medal (2019) – from the Science History Institute.[24]
Several honorary doctorate degrees, including from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2021), University of London Institute Cancer Research (2019), and Utrecht University in the Netherlands (2017).
2015, Heinz Award, Heinz Family Foundation, in the Technology, the Economy and Employment category "for her seminal work in tissue engineering and disease detection, including the cultivation of functional liver cells outside of the human body, and for her passion in promoting the advancement of women in the STEM fields."[43]
1 2 "Keiko Nomura Named Teacher of the Year". Pulse Newsletter. No.Winter. UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering. 2002. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2009. Other 2001 Teacher of the Year award recipients include: Sangeeta Bhatia Bioengineering
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