Two KU professors elected to American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering

LAWRENCE — Two University of Kansas professors have been named fellows in an organization of the nation’s top medical and biological engineering researchers.

KU researchers Steven Soper, a Foundation Distinguished Professor with appointments in the KU departments of Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering, and Lisa Friis, a professor in the mechanical engineering department, have been inducted into the College of Fellows within the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

AIMBE’s mission is to advocate for the value of medical and biological engineering as well as to recognize excellence and accelerate innovation within the field. The group’s College of Fellows comprises the top 2 percent of medical and biological engineers as defined by AIMBE. College membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering and medicine research, practice or education and to "the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education.”

Soper and Friis were nominated, reviewed and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for their contributions to their fields. Soper was recognized for his work in the field of biomedical microfluidic devices with potential to revolutionize diagnosis and monitoring of cancer patients, and Friis was recognized for her work in translational bioengineering research and education in biomaterials and entrepreneurship.

AIMBE Fellows are employed in academia, industry, clinical practice and government and include some of the most distinguished medical and biological engineers in the world. AIMBE Fellows include two Nobel Prize laureates, 17 Presidential Medal of Science and/or Technology and Innovation recipients, 158 National Academy of Engineering inductees, 72 National Academy of Medicine inductees and 31 National Academy of Sciences inductees.