New Executive Council Appointees
2006-2008
Elena Aikawa (Rabkin), MD, PhD, is an Instructor in Radiology at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Pathology Core for the Center for Molecular Imaging Research at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her primary research interest has been the pathogenesis of valvular heart disease, particularly, the role of phenotypic modulation of interstitial valvular cells in the dysregulation of extracellular matrix metabolism. The system she has pioneered identifies and phenotypes interstitial valvular cells and serves as a useful tool for clinical and research applications. Her investigational studies have been published in Circulation, the Journal of Heart Valve Disease and the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and her studies have been presented at various national and international meetings. She was selected as a finalist for the Cardiovascular Young Investigator competition at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 2005. Dr. Aikawa’s other research interests include the biology of remodeling of tissue-engineered heart valves in vitro and in vivo in collaboration with Drs. John Mayer and Joyce Bischoff at the Children’s Hospital in Boston. She has also authored a review article on cardiovascular tissue engineering, published in Cardiovascular Pathology, and a book chapter in “Regenerative Medicine”. Dr. Aikawa joined the Center for Molecular Imaging Research at Massachusetts General Hospital as Director of the Pathology Core in 2005. Her current studies focus on biology and in vivo detection of matrix remodeling and calcification in atherosclerotic plaques and heart valves. Dr. Aikawa is a member of the Society for Heart Valve Disease (2002 - present), the International Society for Applied Cardiovascular Biology (2002 - present) and the Society for Molecular Imaging (2002 - present). Art Coury, Ph.D. holds a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Delaware (1962), a Ph.D. in organic chemistry (1965) and an M.B.A.(1980) from the University of Minnesota. His industrial career includes positions as: Senior Research Chemist at General Mills, Inc. (1965-1976), Director, Polymer Technology and Research Fellow at Medtronic, Inc. (1976-1993), Vice President, Research and Chief Scientific Officer at Focal, Inc. (1993-2000), and Vice President, Biomaterials Research at Genzyme Corporation (2000-present). His career focus has been polymeric biomaterials for medical products such as implantable electronic devices, hydrogel-based devices and drug delivery systems. He holds over fifty distinct patents and has published and presented widely in his field. His teaching positions have included adjunct appointments at the University of Minnesota and the Harvard-MIT Graduate Program in Health Sciences and Technology. His professional service includes: Chair, Minnesota Section, American Chemical Society (1989-1990); President, Society for Biomaterials, USA (1999-2000); President, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2003-2004) and membership on academic, professional or corporate advisory boards.
Simon P. Hoerstrup, M.D. Ph.D. attended medical school in Germany (Cologne), Switzerland (Bern) and USA (Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, Boston, Harvard Medical School). He completed his Residency in Cardiovascular Surgery at University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland and a Research Fellowship at Children’s Hospital and MGH, Harvard Medical School in Boston. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technical University Eindhoven, The Netherlands, Director of the Division of Regenerative Medicine, Department of Surgical Research, University Hospital and University Zürich, Switzerland and Director of the Cardiovascular Research, Clinic for Cardiovascular Surgery and Department of Surgical Research, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
David A. Vorp, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Surgery (Division of Vascular Surgery) and Bioengineering, and core faculty within the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He was recently named Director of the University’s new Center for Vascular Remodeling and Regeneration. Dr. Vorp received his BS (1986) and PhD (1992) in Mechanical Engineering. His general research interests include the biomechanics, mechanopathobiology, and tissue engineering of the vasculature. In particular, his research has focused on: the biomechanics of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA); the development of tissue engineered blood vessels; the development and use of in-vitro models to simulate the in-vivo milieu of the vasculature; the guided differentiation of progenitor cells to vascular cells; and the role of physical forces in the pathogenesis of AAA, atherosclerosis, intimal hyperplasia, and vein graft thrombosis. In addition to ISACB, Dr. Vorp is an active member of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the Bioengineering Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Tissue Engineering Society International (TESi), and the Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and Medicine (SPRBM). He is a fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE) and a member of the Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB) Council of the American Heart Association (AHA). Dr. Vorp has over 50 peer-reviewed journal publications and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Biomechanics and the Encyclopedia of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering. As PI, he has received multiple awards, including NIH R01 grants entitled “Biomechanical Preconditioning of Human Vein Grafts”, “Biomechanical Evaluation of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm” (with competing renewal), “Cardiopulmonary Organ Engineering, Project 1: Tissue Engineered Blood Vessel”, and “Bioengineering & Biologic Studies of Aneurysm Weakening”. He also serves as an ad-hoc member of several NIH study sections and the VA Merit Review System.
David Williams, DSc FREng is Professor of Tissue Engineering at the University of Liverpool and Director of the joint Liverpool-Manchester UK Centre for Tissue Engineering. He was trained as a materials scientist and has worked in the medical applications of materials for 35 years. Professor Williams has published over 350 scientific papers and written or edited 35 books, including the first textbook on medical devices in 1973 (Implants in Surgery) and the recent Williams Dictionary of Biomaterials. He has received the senior awards of the UK, European and US Societies for Biomaterials and is Editor-in-Chief of the world-leading journal Biomaterials. Over the last two decades Professor Williams has acted as consultant to both medical device companies and government bodies on a global basis, especially concerning biocompatibility of medical devices and tissue engineering products, complex issues of the scientific basis of regulatory issues and device classification, materials selection for medical devices and failure analysis. He has been heavily involved in litigation, defending device companies in major class actions. Professor Williams has been scientific advisor to the European Commission on public health aspects of medical devices and pharmaceutical products for several years. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1999.
