Congratulations to the New Board Members

BMES News,

A tight election for Board seats among an impressive slate of candidates vying for five volunteer leadership positions yielded the following results.

Kristen Billiar

Secretary of the BMES Board of Directors 

Professor and Department Head, Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute. 

“It is an honor to have been nominated for the Secretary of BMES. The Society and its members have provided me with a strong scientific and educational community and wonderful mentorship for my professional growth and leadership skills. I believe the role of a professional society is to provide overall leadership to the field, serve as a unifying voice, and facilitate “grass roots” programs in industry, academia, and local chapters to advance the field. With an excellent new Executive Director and an active Board, we are in a strong position to continue to grow and fill that role.” 

C. LaShan Hendrix

Board of Directors  

Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Cincinnati.  

“I have experienced the increased diversity of BMES, and I want to help navigate our society into its new era. I believe that my lived experience and prior contributions to BMES make me an ideal candidate for the board of directors. I hope to help BMES become more inclusive and accessible. I want to help new members navigate the society and annual meeting to get the most out of it and to keep them coming back. I want to make BMES more inclusive of first-generation students to foster an inclusive environment.” 

Michelle L. Oyen

BMES Board of Directors 

Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Inaugural Director of the new Center for Women’s Health Engineering in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis. 

 “The rapidly expanding area of women's health and engineering has no current ‘home society’ and BMES has the opportunity to lead in this area. The participants come from all different areas of engineering including but not limited to mechanical, materials, electrical, optical, computer, information, and nanotechnology. Drawing such a diverse group of people together with a singular focus on improving both diversity and healthcare through engineering makes BMES a natural home for the topic of women's health as we head into the next exciting stage of development for this field.”   

Raj Kumar Prabhu 

Board of Directors – Industry/Government 

Deputy Project Scientist for NASA Human Research Program’s Cross-Cutting Computational Modeling Project, NASA Glenn Research Center.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on the BMES Board of Directors because I believe in the organization's vision of promoting health and wellness through engineering innovation. As a Director, I would leverage my diverse biomedical engineering background, NASA leadership roles, and academic experience to contribute to BMES's strategic initiatives. I am particularly excited about the focus on strengthening government engagement, building alliances, and enhancing member benefits to attract a more diverse membership base.”   

Beth L. Pruitt 

Board of Directors 

Professor and Chair of Bioengineering; Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Director, NSF Research Training Program in Data Driven Biology; Director, NIH T32 Training Program in Quantitative Mechanobiology Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program.  

“I am committed to the principles of supporting and including diverse voices, experiences, and views at the table, an imperative for bioengineers who are innovating solutions for all of humanity and our planet. BMES should be instrumental in bridging the translational gaps between training and developing an informed and inclusive workforce to industry to bedside providers. Advocating for and connecting with stakeholders and federal support will be essential in this effort.”