Donald E. Ingber

A pioneer in the field of biologically inspired engineering, Dr. Ingber has authored 400+ publications, is a named inventor on 125 patents, has founded four companies and has been a guest speaker at 450+ events internationally.

Dr. Ingber is the founding director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, and professor of bioengineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. At the Wyss Institute, he leads a multifaceted effort to develop breakthrough bioinspired technologies to advance healthcare and improve sustainability. His work has led to advances in mechanobiology, tumor angiogenesis, tissue engineering, systems biology, nanobiotechnology and translational medicine.

Among Dr. Ingber’s most recently developed technologies: an anticoagulant surface coating for medical devices that replaces the need for dangerous blood-thinning drugs; a dialysis-like sepsis therapeutic device that clears blood of pathogens and inflammatory toxins; a shear stress-activated nanotherapeutic that targets clot-busting drugs to sites of vascular occlusion; and human organs-on-chips created with microchip manufacturing methods and lined by living human cells, which are being used to replace animal testing as an in vitro platform for drug development and personalized medicine. In 2015, Dr. Ingber’s organs-on-chips technology was named Design of the Year by the London Design Museum and was also acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City for its permanent design collection.

Dr. Ingber received his B.A., M.A., M.Phil., M.D. and Ph.D. from Yale University.