2013 Research Prize and Medal Recipient
October 3, 2013
Treena Livingston Arinzeh, PhD is a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering whose research involves the synthesis of innovative bio-inspired materials and leveraging these materials in combination with non-embryonic stem cell populations to promote regeneration of tissues such as bone, cartilage, and nerve. Dr. Arinzeh has already made two stem-cell breakthroughs. Several years ago, her paper in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research documented the first of these discoveries. The paper focused on her work with biomaterials known as scaffolds—specifically, calcium phosphates —that act as a framework for growing stem cells and which can prompt them to become the cellular building material of bone or other tissues. Her second discovery, which she described in a paper for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, was that adult stem cells taken from one person could be implanted in another without being rejected. It was among the most significant findings in stem cell research in the past few years.
In 2004, President Bush awarded Dr. Arinzeh the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the only one ever awarded to an NJIT researcher. She also has been recognized with the 2010 Coulter Foundation Translational Award for Biomedical Engineering; the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Award.
Dr. Arinzeh is an engaging and effective mentor and educator. She has supervised the research of 20 master’s students, 17 doctoral students and over 20 undergraduate students, all while teaching graduate and undergraduate courses on biomaterials and tissue engineering. She also participates in professional service activities on a national and international level, serving on the editorial boards of several journals, participating in reviews for the National Institutes of Health, and organizing symposia and chairing sessions at national scientific meetings.
Dr. Arinzeh received a BS in mechanical engineering from Rutgers University; an MSE in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins University; and a PhD in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.