Jewell Named Science Translational Medicine Associate Scientific Advisor

Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BIOE) Assistant Professor Christopher Jewell was named associate scientific advisor for Science Translational Medicine, an interdisciplinary sister to Science published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Jewell is one of 28 early-career translational scientists selected from across all fields of human health. In addition to acting as an advisor for the journal, Jewell will author seven articles, each of which will be highlighted as Editors’ Choice.

Jewell’s first piece, “50 Shades of Red,” describes a fully synthetic heart valve designed from a biodegradable polymer that both promotes colonization by host cells and allows functional tissue to replace the synthetic valve over time. Unlike existing synthetic heart valves, the approach outlined in Jewell’s article is unique in that it allows the formation of “adaptable, living tissue as the polymer degrades.”

Jewell, a Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator and Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy Young Investigator, leads the Fischell Department of Bioengineering’s Immune Engineering Lab. The lab works to understand how nanotechnology, polymers, and other advanced materials interact with the immune system, and seeks to use this knowledge for more effective and specific therapies for cancer and autoimmune disease.

Science Translational Medicine aims to promote human health by providing a forum of communication and cross-fertilization among basic, translational, and clinical research practitioners and trainees from a wide range of relevant established and emerging disciplines.

Read “50 Shades of Red” online.

Published March 1, 2017