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University of Toronto Engineering alumnus and current Harvard Medical School Professor Ali Khademhosseini  is one of the recipients of the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers by American President Barack Obama. The award, which is the highest honour bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers in the early stages of their research careers, was announced earlier this fall.

Professor Khademhosseini’s research focused on developing micro- and nanoscale technologies to control cellular behavior. He is particularly focused on developing microscale biomaterials and engineering systems for tissue engineering. His work in tissue engineering began under the supervision of University Professor Michael Sefton, under whose supervision Professor Khademhosseini completed his Master’s degree. He continued his work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned a doctorate in bioengineering in 2005.

In addition to his appointment at Harvard, Professor Khademhosseini is an Associate Professor at Harvard-MIT's Division of Health Sciences and Technology and Brigham and Women’s Hospital as well as an Associate Faculty at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

This is far from Professor Khademhosseini’s first honour. In 2007, he has named one of the Top 35 Innovators Under 35 by MIT’s Technology Review. In the past year alone, he was recognized with the Pioneers of Miniaturization Prize from the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Lab on a Chip and Corning Inc, the IEEE Early Career Award in Nanotechnology, the Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) Young Investigator Award and the Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

“We congratulate Dr. Khademhosseini on the substantial recognition he has received at this early stage in his career for his contributions to the field of tissue engineering,” said Professor D. Grant Allen, Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry. “We are proud of Dr. Khademhosseini’s accomplishments and his association with our Department.”