ChemE Graduate Student Alexandra May Receives Willem Kolff Award at ASAIO Annual Meeting

Bioengineering, Chemical & Petroleum, Student Profiles

PITTSBURGH (June 19, 2018) …The American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) selected Alexandra May, a chemical engineering graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, as a finalist for the Willem Kolff Award at its 64th annual meeting. The award, named after the late Dutch physician who invented the original artificial kidney, recognizes the top abstracts at each annual meeting. May is a graduate student in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Cardiovascular Bioengineering Training Program and works in the Medical Devices Laboratory under the direction of William Federspiel, a William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Bioengineering at Pitt. The lab develops clinically significant devices for the treatment of pulmonary and cardiovascular ailments by utilizing engineering principles of fluid flow and mass transfer. May’s research focuses on the development of the Pittsburgh Pediatric Ambulatory Lung (P-PAL), an artificial lung device developed to bridge pediatric acute or chronic lung failure patients to transplant. The P-PAL integrates the blood pump and gas exchanging hollow fiber membrane bundle into a single compact unit and provides 70 percent to 90 percent of the patient’s oxygenation needs. The compact design of the P-PAL provides children with increased mobility pre-transplant, a factor which has been shown to improve post-transplant outcomes. The ASAIO Annual Meeting was held June 13-16, 2018 in Washington, D.C. May’s abstract titled Acute in vivo Performance of a Pediatric Ambulatory Artificial Lung was awarded second place out of approximately 300 accepted abstracts, and she presented her work during the conference’s opening general session. “Alex deserves this recognition,” said Federspiel. “She is an extremely hard worker and devoutly dedicated to our mission of improving the lives of kids with respiratory failure.” ###

David Vorp named Fellow of the American Heart Association

All SSoE News, Bioengineering

PITTSBURGH (June 4, 2018) ... David A. Vorp, Associate Dean for Research and John A. Swanson Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, was named a Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA) in recognition of his innovative and sustained contributions in scholarship, education, and volunteer service to the organization. Vorp’s election was conferred by the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB) recognizing his work in those fields. Founded in 1924, the American Heart Association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. They provide funding for innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies, and provide critical tools and information to save and improve lives. The ATVB is recognizing Vorp for his achievements in cardiovascular research over the past 26 years. He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed research articles and currently serves on three editorial boards. His research has been supported by over $14 million from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and other sources. He has several patents in the field of vascular bioengineering and is a co-founder of Neograft Technologies, Inc., a startup that uses technology developed in his lab to help produce arterial vein grafts. Vorp’s lab applies its strengths in computational and experimental biomechanics, image analysis, cellular and molecular biology, and tissue engineering to understand and seek solutions to pathologies of tubular tissue and organs. His current research aims to develop regenerative treatments for vascular diseases such as aortic aneurysm and coronary heart disease. John Curci, associate professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University, said, "Dr. Vorp's scientific discoveries in vascular biomechanics and biology have independently created incredible advances in the discipline. More importantly, his collaborative leadership in the field has been generous and insightful, allowing many others to increase their scientific productivity exponentially." Vorp has worked closely with clinical colleagues to develop a multi-disciplinary, NIH-funded research program focusing on abdominal aortic aneurysm disease, vascular “mechanopathobiology,” and tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications for vascular and urethral systems. “Dr. Vorp has very effectively and creatively applied his unique expertise as a bioengineer to advance our understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of several potentially lethal clinical problems, such as aortic aneurysms,” said Marshall Webster, Senior Vice President of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “He has mentored and promoted the careers of a new generation of bioengineers and has established our University as a world class research and training environment, widely recognized.” Vorp has had 14 PhD students graduate from his lab and is currently advising two. He has supervised or mentored 10 medical students, 16 postdoctoral research associates and visiting scholars, and over 80 undergraduate students. Additionally, he has served on over 40 graduate student thesis committees. Vorp has also made scholarly contributions to the American Heart Association. He has participated as an invited speaker and panelist at three different AHA Scientific Sessions and has served as a reviewer for multiple AHA journals, including Circulation and Circulation Research. Other organizations have recognized Vorp’s contributions to the field. He is an elected Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). In 2012, he became the first non-MD President of the International Society for Applied Cardiovascular Biology and was re-elected for a second term in 2014. His other executive roles include his appointment as ASME Bioengineering Division Chair from 2013-2014, two terms on the BMES Board of Directors, and two terms as BMES Secretary. Sanjeev G. Shroff, Distinguished Professor and Gerald McGinnis Chair of Bioengineering at Pitt, said, “Dr. Vorp has been an integral part of our bioengineering department since it was founded in 1996. His election as a Fellow of the American Heart Association underscores his dedication and commitment to and high accomplishments in cardiovascular research.” ###