Professor Reineke to be inducted into AIMBE College of Fellows

Professor Theresa Reineke will be inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows. She was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for her outstanding and creative contributions to the design and discovery of synthetic polymers for drug and gene delivery.

The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers in the country. The most accomplished and distinguished engineering and medical school chairs, research directors, professors, innovators, and successful entrepreneurs, comprise the College of Fellows.

An induction ceremony will be held during AIMBE’s 25th Annual Meeting, Monday, April 4, at the National Academy of Sciences Great Hall in Washington, D.C. She will be inducted along with 160 colleagues who make up the AIMBE College of Fellows Class of 2016.

Reineke earned her bachelor's degree at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, her master’s degree from Arizona State University, and her doctorate from the University of Michigan. She was a National Institutes of Health post-doctorate at the California Institute of Technology. Before coming to the University of Minnesota in 2011, she was an associate professor of chemistry at Virginia Tech, and an assistant professor of chemistry and Lowenstein Scholar at the University of Cincinnati. She also was an analytical chemist at Upsher-Smith Pharmaceuticals in Minneapolis for a year. Currently, Reineke is the Department of Chemistry’s Lloyd H. Reyerson Professor of Chemistry.

She has expertise in polymer science, drug delivery, gene therapy and diagnostics. Reineke is a world leader in the area of polymer/deoxyribonucleic acid nanostructures for medical applications. Her research group members specialize in the synthetic design, chemical characterization, and biological study of sophisticated macromolecules. They seek to discover novel polymeric vehicles and strategies to safely deliver nucleic acids and drugs, impart enhanced material performance from sustainable feedstocks, and elucidate cellular-level mechanisms in biomaterials and animals.

AIMBE’s mission is to recognize excellence in and advocate for the fields of medical and biological engineering in order to advance society. Since 1991, AIMBE‘s College of Fellows has lead the way for technological growth and advancement in the fields of medical and biological engineering. Fellows have helped revolutionize medicine and related fields in order to enhance and extend the lives of people all over the world. They have also successfully advocated for public policies that have enabled researchers and business-makers to further the interests of engineers, teachers, scientists, clinical practitioners, and ultimately, patients.

AIMBE Fellows are regularly recognized for their contributions to teaching, research, and innovation such as the Presidential Medal of Science and the Presidential Medal of Technology and Innovation and many also are members of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences.

For questions regarding the College of Fellows and AIMBE, please contact Jason R. Hibner, AIMBE director of Member Services and Operations at jhibner@aimbe.org, or call the AIMBE office at 202-496-9660, or visit its website at http://aimbe.org/.