UTA bioengineering professor named AIMBE fellow
The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has selected University of Texas at Arlington bioengineering professor Jun Liao as a fellow.
Liao was selected “for outstanding contributions in advancing understanding of structural-functional mechanisms of cardiovascular tissues, and for grassroots advocacy of cardiovascular disease research,” according to the citation included with his nomination.
“I am humbled to be elected as an AIMBE Fellow. I have been lucky to have opportunities to work with our talented students, dedicated collaborators across the nation, and mentors/colleagues at all the great institutes I have been blessed to work in as a doctoral student, a postdoctoral fellow, and a faculty member. Those team efforts added to the understanding of basic biomechanics of tissues, helping improve the design of bioprostheses for medical interventions,” he said.
Previous AIMBE fellows at UTA include Khosrow Behbehani, Michael Cho, Cheng-Jen Chuong, Yi Hong, Hanli Liu, Kytai Nguyen and Liping Tang of the Bioengineering Department, Jean Gao and Junzhou Huang of the Computer Science and Engineering Department and Florence Haseltine, Presidential Distinguished Professor and executive director of health research.
AIMBE fellows comprise the top 2% of medical and biological engineers in the United States, including some of the most accomplished and distinguished engineering and medical school chairs, research directors, professors, innovators and successful entrepreneurs in the discipline.
Liao, who is also a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Heart Association, received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation/Cleveland State University. After postdoctoral training at the University of Pittsburgh, he has focused his research on tissue biomechanics and bioengineering.
Liao is an associate editor for BMES Annals of Biomedical Engineering, ASME Journal of Medical Devices, Frontier in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, and Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology. He also serves as a co-leader of Cardiovascular Theme in ASME's Bioengineering Division.
With research funded by the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, Department of Defense, and Department of Energy, Liao has published 109 peer-reviewed journal papers, 190 conference presentations/posters, 9 book chapters, and two books, Advances in Heart Valve Biomechanics and Advances in Biological Tissue Mechanics. He also holds three U.S. patents.
“I am very pleased that Dr. Liao has joined the ranks of fellows of AIMBE. His research is exciting in its possibilities for solving problems with heart health, and it is fitting that he has been recognized for his career accomplishments,” said Michael Cho, chair of UTA’s Bioengineering Department.
— Written by Jeremy Agor, College of Engineering