Dr. Tao Lowe Elected Chair of Biomaterials Area of American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)

PHILADELPHIA – September 25, 2009 – Tao Lowe, PhD, was recently elected Chair of the Biomaterials area of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE.) Dr. Lowe is an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at Jefferson School of Pharmacy (JSP.)

In her AIChE role, Dr. Lowe will encourage emphasis on biomaterials in chemical engineering education and graduate research and will provide opportunities for engineers and scientists interested in biomaterials to exchange information and ideas through meetings, seminars, courses and publications.

"I hope to encourage more young people to choose careers in fields related to biomaterials, to be the catalyst for more collaboration between academia and industry and to help Thomas Jefferson University to be recognized in the field of biomaterials," shares Dr. Lowe.

Prior to joining the faculty of Jefferson School of Pharmacy, Dr. Lowe was an assistant professor of surgery, bioengineering, and materials science and engineering at the Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Lowe’s current research activities are focused on the design and development of multi-functional biomaterials for targeted and sustained drug delivery, gene therapy, tissue engineering and biosensoring for the diagnoses and treatments of neurological disorders, diabetic retinopathy, cancers, bone fractures and cartilage damages. The impact of her research has been recognized in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s magazine, Chemistry in Britain, Research Penn State Magazine and at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Dr. Lowe has received a number of honors and awards, including the Finnish Education Ministry CIMO Graduate Fellowship and the Early Career Award in Translational Research from the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation. She is a peer reviewer for more than 20 professional journals, a grant reviewer for NIH, NSF, EPA and other government and private grant agencies around the world, and is currently on the editorial board of the Future Medicinal Chemistry journal. This extensive leadership experience has well prepared her to take on her new role in AIChE.

Contact:
Jacqueline Paquet
jacqueline.paquet@jefferson.edu
(215) 503-1918

Published: 9-25-09

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