B-REAL

Jian Yang (Right) at the scene of receiving the award

The 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) was held in Seattle, USA from October 11 to October 14. At this conference, Jian Yang who as a chair Professor of Biomaterials and Regenerative Engineering at Westlake University was awarded this year’s Wallace H. Coulter Medical Innovation Award and made a speech titled “Translational Citrate Biomaterials in Regenerative Engineering.” This honor highlights his continued dedication and contributions to advancing the field of biomedical engineering and elevating contemporary medical technology.

Established in 1968, the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) is a professional society for students, faculty, researchers, and industry professionals in biomedical engineering. The purpose is to promote a collaborative and inclusive community to advance human health through education, discovery, and translation. Currently, the association has more than 6800 members and is one of the most influential academic institutions in the world. Specifically, BMES selects scientists who have made outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of biomedicine and awards them every year. Among these awards, the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Healthcare Innovation Award recognizes achievements of an individual who is integrally involved in the development of a biomedical device, diagnostic test/device or combination device drug/device in industry. It’s great honor that Prof. Jian Yang won this award this year. At the same time, there are five other scientists from Brown University, Northwestern University, University of Florida, University of California, San Diego, and Texas A&M University won awards in different award categories.

Prof. Jian Yang specializes in the development and application of biodegradable biomaterials. He is an internationally renowned expert in the field of biomaterials, particularly in biodegradable polymers and luminescent materials based on citric acid chemistry and biology. The biomaterials he has developed hold broad application prospects. The current main application directions include complex human tissue regeneration, wound repair, disease diagnosis and treatment, biosensors, drug release, as well as medical devices and other fields. Among a multitude of materials, the novel citrate-based biodegradable materials developed by Jian Yang are currently the only biodegradable thermosetting polyester polymers in the world that have been authorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for extensive use in implantable medical devices.

In July 2023, Yang Jian joined Westlake University as a full-time Chair Professor of Biomaterials and Regenerative Engineering. Prior to this, he had received multiple professional awards. For instance, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2016), a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (2020), a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2021), a Fellow of the International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (2023), and a member of the National Academy of Inventors (2018).

Jian Yang’s lab - Biomaterials and Regenerative Engineering Alliance Laboratory (B-REAL)