Donald Ingber

Donald Ingber is the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology in Pathology and Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston. He is also a professor of bioengineering at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science, and founding director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. Ingber has made major contributions to cell and tissue engineering, as well as angiogenesis, cancer, systems biology, and nanobiotechnology. He is best known for his discovery that living cells structure themselves using Buckminster Fuller’s tensegrity architecture and his pioneering work explaining how mechanical forces control cell and tissue development. Ingber has received awards in diverse disciplines, including Breast Cancer Innovator Award (US Department of Defense), Pritzker Award (Biomedical Engineering Society), Rous Whipple Award (American Association of Investigative Pathologists), and the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Society for In Vitro Biology. He was also named one of the world’s “Best and Brightest” in 2002 by Esquire. He has authored over 300 publications and more than 40 patents in areas ranging from anti-angiogenic therapeutics, tissue engineering, nanotechnology, and medical devices to computer software. He also helped to found two biotechnology start-ups, and has consulted for multiple pharmaceutical, biotechnology, cosmetic, venture capital, and private investment companies, as well as New York Public Radio.