Jennifer Lewis elected to National Academy of Medicine

Jennifer Lewis, the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and a core faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. The Academy has recognized her work in 3D bioprinting of soft and living materials, and for development of advanced techniques for creating vascularized organoids and human tissues for use in drug discovery, disease modeling and therapeutic repair. 

Lewis joins 100 new members of the Academy this year, including 13 at Harvard. Election to the National Academy of Medicine is considered one of the highest honors in health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. With her election, Lewis earns the rare distinction of membership in all three national academies, including the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Engineering.

Lewis and her team are focused on developing functional, structural, and living materials for applications ranging from printed electronics to vascularized human tissues. Her lab integrates expertise in materials science, soft matter physics, additive manufacturing, bioengineering, and stem cell biology to create new classes of printable materials and 3D printing and 3D bioprinting methods. 

Lewis has received widespread recognition for her work, including the NAS James Prize for Science and Technology Integration, the Sigma Xi Gold Key Award, the Lush Prize for Scientific Research, the Materials Research Society Medal, and the Department of Defense Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship. 

Multiple startups are commercializing technology from her research lab, ranging from printed electronics to kidney tissue therapeutics.