Two KU researchers named 2026 senior members by National Academy of Inventors

LAWRENCE — The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named two University of Kansas researchers to the 2026 class of senior members.

The senior member program recognizes active faculty, scientists and administrators at NAI member institutions who have produced, patented and commercialized technologies that brought — or aspire to bring — real impact on the welfare of society and economic progress. 

Lisa Stehno-Bittel is a professor emerita in what is now the Department of Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation Science, and Athletic Training at KU Medical Center. Elizabeth “Lisa” Friis is the M.J. Spahr Professor and Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering on the Lawrence campus.

Both researchers were nominated by a team led by Cliff Michaels, the executive director of the KU Center for Technology Commercialization, the university’s technology transfer office. Serving innovators from all KU campuses, KUCTC works with researchers like Stehno-Bittel and Friis to protect and commercialize their innovations.

“One of the highlights for KUCTC each year is nominating KU faculty for membership in the National Academy of Inventors,” Michaels said. “Both Dr. Stehno-Bittel and Dr. Friis are exemplary inventors and entrepreneurs whose innovations hold the potential to make an impact on human health. Perhaps as important, both also have played important roles within our university and region in helping mature the next generation of innovators. We are thrilled to see their efforts recognized.”

Stehno-Bittel and Friis join Stefan Bossman, chair of the Department of Cancer Biology and the University of Kansas Medical Center, as KU’s representatives in the NAI senior member program. The senior member program is separate from the organization’s fellows program, which includes six KU faculty members.

Lisa Stehno-Bittel

Stehno-Bittel’s nomination recognizes her achievements as a scholar, innovator, entrepreneur and inspiration to her colleagues. A physical therapist motivated to improve outcomes for patients, she has spent more than 30 years in academic medicine, research and biotechnology.

In addition to serving as professor and chair of the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at KU Medical Center, she was also scientific director of the KU Diabetes Institute. A combination of clinical, physiological and pharmacological expertise became the foundation for her approach to research and innovation.

At KU Medical Center, she developed a pioneering 3D cell culture platform to advance next-generation treatments for diabetes. She founded the biotechnology company Likarda, an innovator in both the cell therapy and drug delivery fields. 

Stehno-Bittel is the author of more than 90 peer-reviewed publications and has been recognized with numerous honors. Her research has been supported by more than $9 million in funding from both public and private organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the American Heart Association, the Hall Family Foundation and Eli Lilly and Company.

“As a proud KU graduate and former faculty member, I am honored to accept the nomination for this NAI honor,” Stehno-Bittel said. “Starting with my freshman year in the Douthart Scholarship Hall, I credit KU with setting me on the right path and supporting me in so many ways along my journey to launching a biotech company working to increase patient access to life-saving therapies.”

Elizabeth “Lisa” Friis

The university nominated Friis in part for how she’s strengthened collaborations across the KU School of Medicine, the KU Cancer Center and numerous industry partners, elevating KU’s profile in medical device innovation.

Her main research interests are in mechanical testing of materials and structures and in medical implant design. Her current interests involve using piezoelectric materials in implants to stimulate biological healing of tissues.

Friis has received several federal Small Business Innovation Research awards and has commercialized licensed technologies. Her multiple U.S. patents cover technologies central to spinal biomechanics, medical implant design and piezoelectric regenerative devices.  

Moreover, she led several efforts to incorporate technology entrepreneurship education into KU’s engineering curriculum. She was also the Contact PI on a $3.25 million National Institutes of Health I-RED grant to develop an online technology entrepreneurship education product with a small company out of the KU Innovation Park.

Friis currently serves as the Faculty Lead for the KU Site of the Great Plains Hub NSF I-Corps program. 

“I am deeply honored to be named a Senior Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors,” she said. “This recognition reflects the creativity, dedication, and collaborative spirit of our students and research partners at the University of Kansas as we strive to develop innovations that make a positive difference in the world.”

The 230 individuals comprising the 2026 class of senior members will be honored in June during the academy’s 15th Annual Conference.

KUCTC helps researchers with activities related to intellectual property protection, licensing and new venture creation. The center received 85 invention disclosures in fiscal year 2025 — the highest number in a decade — and received nearly 350 total invention disclosures in the past five years. Moreover, KU has 58 active startup companies based upon discoveries or innovations made by KU researchers.