Other News....

Prof. Peppas gave an invited talk on “Advances in Hydrogels for Medical Applications” at the 6th International Symposium on Intelligent Drug Delivery Systems held in Seoul, South Korea on March 14-17, 2012.

Professor Peppas was presented with the Education Award in Biomedical Nanotechnology for his contributions to educate scientists and engineers in the field of Bionanotechnology. The award is sponsored by the Biomedical Nanotechnology Institute of the University of Miami. The presentation of the award took place at the Miami 2012 Winter Symposium, February 28. The 2012 meeting was entitled Nanotechnology in Biomedicine and was organized by Nature Biotechnology, Nature Medicine and Nature Nanotechnology, in conjunction with the University of Miami Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Foundation, Inc. (link).

Nicholas Peppas presented an invited lecture on “The next generation of intelligent, recognitive medical micro- and nanodevices” at the Miami 2012 Winter Symposium organized by the journal Nature. This is a premier conference in nanomedicine and the theme of this symposium was Nanotechnology in Biomedicine. His lecture was given on Tuesday, February 28 (link).

Two former graduates of the laboratory, Drs Richard W. Korsmeyer and Antonios G. Mikos were elected members of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).                                                                           
-- Dr. Richard W. Korsmeyer (MS ’80, PhD ’83) is Senior Research Fellow and Head of Licensing, Worldwide Pharmaceutical Sciences, of Pfizer, New London, CT. He was recognized for pioneering work and leadership in the development of successful drug delivery formulations and medical devices (link).                
-- Dr. Antonios G Mikos (MS ’85, PhD ’88) is the Louis Calder Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice university, Houston, TX. He was recognized for advances in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, biomaterials and drug delivery including the development of novel biodegradable polymers (link).

Professor Peppas presented the UNC/Eisai Distinguished Lecture in Drug Delivery  titled " Intelligent Biomaterials for Protein Delivery, Molecular Imprinting and Recognitive Medical Devices" at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC, on November 14, 2011 (link)

Professor Nicholas A. Peppas has been selected as the recipient of the 2011 Excellence in Surface Science Award  of the Surface in Biomaterials Foundation. The Surfaces in Biomaterials Foundation is dedicated to exploring creative solutions to technical challenges at the BioInterface by fostering education and multidisciplinary cooperation among industrial, academic, clinical and regulatory communities (link). Each year the Surfaces in Biomaterials Foundation bestows an award to a key figure in the biomaterials field who has shown considerable contribution in the Surface Science field with emphasis on medical materials and biomaterials. Dr. Peppas received the award at the 2011 Biointerface Meeting in Minneapolis on October 24, 2011, where he presented a plenary award lecture.

Prof. Juergen Siepmann of the University of Lille France and Professor Peppas have edited a special issue of the International Journal of Pharmaceutics that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the publication of Professor Higuchi’s famous equation (link). This seminal contribution by Takeru Higuchi has guided pharmaceutical formulation design for 50 years. This new IJP volume has just appeared this month. 

Professor Nicholas Peppas gave one of the three Centennial Lectures (link) in the Centennial celebrations of the School of Chemical Engineering of Purdue University on October 7, 2011. In addition, Peppas and his former colleague Phillip C. Wankat are the authors of the second edition of the History of the School which was published in October (link). Peppas was a professor at Purdue from September 1976 till December 2002.

Professor Peppas presented an invited lecture titled "Nanotechnology and Bioengineering in an Evolving Chemical Engineering World: The Next Generation of Recognitive, Intelligent Medical Microdevices" at the Chemical Engineering Department of ETH, Zurich on September 26, 2011 (link).

Nicholas A. Peppas has been elected to the 2011 class of Fellows of the American Chemical Society (ACS). This is the third class of ACS Fellows and it represents about 200 leading researchers in chemical sciences. The ACS Fellows Program was created in 2008 to recognize members of ACS for outstanding achievements in and contributions to science, the profession, and society. Induction took place at the Annual ACS meeting in Denver, CO on August 29.

The 2009 contribution on Micro- and nanotechnologies for intelligent and responsive biomaterial-based medical systems  (Adv Drug Del Revs, 61, 1391, 2009) by Mary Caldorera-Moore and Nicholas Peppas is the most cited work published in the last two years in the  field of intelligent medical systems.

The 2003 contribution on Advances in biomaterials, drug delivery, and bionanotechnology (AIChE Journal, 49, 2990, 2003) by Robert Langer and Nicholas Peppas is the most cited work published in the AIChE Journal in the last ten years with 275 citations.

William Liechty received the Excellence in Graduate Research award at the Graduate School/University Co-op Awards for Excellence in Graduate Education on May 18, 2011. The award includes a cash prize of $2000. Bill was recognized for the “Development of Dual-Responsive Nanoscale Hydrogels for Oral Delivery of Small Interfering RNA”. Bill is a NSF Fellow and was the UT representative to the Lindau Nobel Laureates meeting in Lindau, Germany in June. He is the second chemical engineer in a row to receive this prestigious award, David Kryscio having been last year’s recipient.

An article by Don Owens (PhD’ 07) and Nicholas Peppas on Opsonization, Biodistribution, and Pharmacokinetics of polymeric nanoparticles is the most cited paper in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics in the past five years (link).  

William Liechty was the winner of the first prize for best paper in the Second Biomaterials Day competition at Texas A&M on May 16, 2011.

William B. Liechty has been selected to attend the Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates as a UT representative. In this meeting Nobel Laureates in chemistry, physics, and physiology/medicine convene annually to have open and informal meetings with students and young researchers. At the meeting, that was held June 26-July 1, 2011, the laureates lectured on the topic of their choice in the mornings and participated in less formal, small-group discussions with the students in the afternoons and some evenings.

Dr. Peppas gave a plenary lecture on “Advanced siRNA and protein delivery through smart hydrogels” at the Turkish Chapter of the Controlled Release Society in Istanbul, Turkey on June 2, 2011.

Dr. Peppas presented the Kurt Wohl Lecture at the University of Delaware on April 29 (link).

Nicholas Peppas gave an invited talk on Responsive Biomaterials and Feedback-Controlled Medical Devices for Protein Delivery, Molecular Imprinting and Microfabricated Systems at the National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials in Chengdu, China, on April 2 (link).

Katie Maass, a senior chemical engineer and research assistant in the Peppas Lab for 2 years, was awarded a 5-year $250,000 Hertz Foundation Fellowship for graduate research. This will allow her to pursue PhD studies at MIT (link).

Dr. Peppas presented the Alkis Payatakes Memorial Lecture at the University of Houston on March 4 (link).

Dr. Peppas presented the Basore Distinguished Lecture at Auburn University on February 23 (link).

Nicholas Peppas gave an invited talk on New frontiers in drug delivery: emerging applications in oral administration at the Fifteenth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Drug Delivery Systems in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 16 (link).

Dr. Peppas presented the Eugene W. Skinner and Eugene P. Lautenschlager Memorial Lecture  at Northwestern University on February 10 (link).

Professor Peppas gave the Plenary Lecture of the 10th Congress of the Sociedad Española de Farmacia Industrial  Galénica in Madrid, Spain on February 3 (link). He talked about Advances in Protein Delivery and Responsive Nanoscale Drug Delivery Systems.

Nicholas Peppas was elected President of the Biomedical Engineering Council of Chairs (link).

The group of Prof. Nicholas Peppas was ranked second world-wide and first American in the number of citations of work in the fields of Pharmacology and Toxicology (including Drug Delivery), cited between January 2000 and August 2010. They had been cited 3,372 times for their work in these specific subfields. The data on high-impact researchers in pharmacology and toxicology were extracted from the Essential Science Indicators (ESI) database of Thomson Reuters®. In the current version of ESI, approximately 294,900 author records were surveyed to obtain these results. The group had also 5 top papers published over the period. Highly cited papers rank in the top 1% by total citations in their field when compared with papers published the same period.

Nicholas A Peppas was the recipient of the 2010 BMES Distinguished Achievement Lecture Award. The BMES Distinguished Achievement Award is presented each year to a company, charitable foundation, nonacademic institution or individual who has made great contributions to the field of biomedical engineering. The recipient is expected to deliver a plenary lecture at the BMES Annual Meeting in the fall and to publish the text of the lecture in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering. An important purpose of the lecture is to offer a vision of the challenges and opportunities in biomedical engineering. Peppas delivered his plenary lecture at the 2010 Biomedical Engineering Society’s Annual Meeting in Austin, on October 7, 2010. (link)

Nicholas Peppas was the recipient of the 2010 Acta Biomaterialia Gold Medal Award, one of the most prestigious awards in biomaterials science recognizing “excellence in research and development”. The criteria indicate “... the awardee should be an undisputed world leader in the field of biomaterials, whose accomplishments in discovery and translation to practice are surpassing and known to all in the field”. The award consists of a gold medal, plaque and a cash honorarium. This award was presented at the 2010 Biomedical Engineering Society’s Annual Meeting in Austin, on October 6, 2010. (link)

Nicholas Peppas is this year’s recipient of the C. William Hall Award from the Society for Biomaterials. This award honors members of the Society For Biomaterials who have made a significant contribution to the Society and have an outstanding record in establishing, developing, maintaining and promoting the objectives and goals of the Society For Biomaterials. Peppas was previously honored with the Society’s Clemson Award for Basic Research (1992) and with its highest research recognition, the Founder’s Award (2005). He received the C. William Hall award at the 2010 Annual SFB Meeting in Seattle, April 21-24.

Professor Nicholas Peppas is the recipient of the 2010 Distinguished Scientist Award from the Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA).(link) He is cited for pioneering contributions to biomedical engineering, biomaterials, polymer sciences and drug delivery. The award was presented to him at the SURA Board of Trustees meeting at Duke University on March 10, 2010 and included a $20,000 honorarium. More information about the award can be found here. (link)

Professor Nicholas Peppas received the 2010 Maurice Marie Janot Award. This award is the highest European recognition in the field of pharmaceutical sciences. It was established in 1986 by the European Pharmaceutical Society APGI and it is sponsored by Aventis Pharma. The award recognizes an international researcher for the quality, innovation and pioneering impact of his/her research work in pharmaceutical sciences over a ten year period. The award was given on the occasion of the International APGI Congress in Malta in March 2010. At the opening session of the Malta meeting Professor Peppas gave the Janot lecture (link). Previous winners (link).

On Sunday, October 11, 2009, Professor Nicholas Peppas was inducted to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences along with the IOM Class of 2008. Previously, he had been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). On Monday, October 12, 2009,  the  Class of 2009 of new IOM members was announced. The class includes the former student and postdoctoral fellow of Professor Peppas, Professor Kristi Anseth of the University of Colorado.

Dr. Peppas was named by the Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST) as one of Texas Leading Innovators. The recognition was announced at the annual meeting of TAMEST in Austin on January 6, 2011.

Professor Peppas presented an invited lecture on Molecular and Cellular Aspects of Transmucosal Protein Delivery at the Collège de France in Paris. (link) The Collège de France was established in 1530 by King Francis I of France. The school's professors are chosen from among the foremost researchers of the day, with no requirement other than that of being at the top of their fields. They are chosen from a variety of disciplines, in both science and the humanities.

Professor Nicholas Peppas was featured as a chemical engineering educator in the latest issue of the Chemical Engineering Education magazine of the ChE Division of ASEE. The article was written by former students Professor Jennifer Sinclair Curtis, now Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of Florida, and Christopher Bowman, now Associate Dean of Engineering at the University of Colorado (link).

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Biomedical Engineering is among a consortium of leading research entities from across the United States selected to receive up to $11.6 million from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to establish a center to conduct innovative cancer research. Nicholas Peppas is a co-PI of this grant. (link)    

On Monday, October 13, 2008, Professor Nicholas Peppas was elected a member of the  Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences (link).  Previously, he had been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). More>

Professor Peppas will be giving one of the plenary lectures at the at the First Global Congress on NanoEngineering for Medicine and Biology to be held in Houston on February 7-10, 2010. (link)

Professor Nicholas Peppas was appointed as the new Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the University of Texas at Austin (link).

Nicholas Peppas gave the Kewaunee Lectureship in the Biomedical Engineering Department of Duke University of Durham, NC on April 23, 2009. (link)

Nicholas Peppas was selected to the Academy of Chemical Engineers of the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri on April 16, 2009. (link) He presented two lectures on "Recognition and Delivery: The Next Generation of Medical Microdevices" and on "Addressing Educational Problems in an Evolving, Global and Challenging Chemical Engineering World" during his induction.

Nicholas A. Peppas opened the 11th Mediterranean Chemical Engineering Congress in Barcelona, Spain on October 21, 2008. (link). He spoke about the Role of Chemical Engineering in the Growth of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.

On the occasion of his election to IOM, the Controlled Release Society published an interview of Professor Peppas with the CRS Newsletter editors. The interview covered numerous points related to the history of the field and Peppas' contributions to the rational design of drug delivery systems. It was published in the January issue of this newsletter. (link)

Nicholas A. Peppas opened the international meeting on Chemistry and 21st Century Challenges: Science and Innovation in Sofia, Bulgaria on September 12, 2008.(link) He spoke about the Design of Functional and Intelligent Polymeric Carriers for Improved Cellular Transport and Biorecognition.

Nicholas Peppas has been elected a Fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) in recognition of his commitment and excellence in engineering education. The official induction took place at the ASEE meeting in Pittsburgh, PA, on Wednesday, June 25, 2008. (link)

Nicholas Peppas was elected a Fellow of the Materials Research Society (MRS) in the 2008 inaugural class of Fellows. This new grade recognizes a few MRS members who are notable for their distinguished research accomplishments and their outstanding contributions to the advancement of materials research, world-wide. The official induction took place on March 26 during the MRS meeting in San Francisco. (link)

Nicholas Peppas has been selected as a Highly Cited Researcher^SM by ISIHighlyCited.com of Thomson Scientific and the Institute of Scientific Information. Being acknowledged as a Highly Cited Researcher means that an individual is among the 250 most cited researchers for their published articles. Citation is a direct measure of influence on the literature of a subject, and it is also a strong indicator of scientific contribution, since it is derived from pattern of interaction among millions of published articles. (link)

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