Advanced Platform Technology Center
Dr. Margot Damaser Inducted into AIMBE's Prestigious College of Fellows
Cleveland, Ohio—Dr. Margot Damaser, Director of Research and Scientific Affairs for the Advanced Platform Technology (APT) Center of Excellence of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Full Staff member, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lerner Research Institute and Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute of the Cleveland Clinic, and Professor of Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), was appointed to the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) as announced at the Induction Ceremony at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. on March 16, 2015. Three additional CWRU faculty and two Cleveland Clinic Foundation staff members were also named AIMBE Fellows this year (listed respectively): Agata Exner, Ph.D., Kenneth Loparo, Ph.D., and Anant Madabhushi, Ph.D.; Zong-Ming Li, Ph.D. and Geoffrey Vince, Ph.D.
Fellows are nominated each year for membership by other AIMBE Fellows and peer-reviewed by the College of Fellows Selection Committee. Election to the College of Fellows includes individuals in the top 2% (approximately 1,500) of the most accomplished and distinguished medical and biological engineers nationally and internationally. These leaders in the field have distinguished themselves through their contributions in research, industrial practice and/or education. Only 150 new Fellows were selected for induction into the AIMBE in 2015.
Dr. Damaser was selected for outstanding contributions to the engineering of innovative models and devices to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate female pelvic floor disorders. She is currently a VA Senior Research Career Scientist (SRCS) at the Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center (LSVAMC) in Cleveland, Ohio where she maintains a dynamic research program with independent funding from the VA, NIH and corporate sources. Her laboratory has developed and characterized models that are now standard in the field for urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse and such that she and other currently use them to conduct preclinical testing of novel therapies for these common disorders. She and her dedicated multidisciplinary team of engineers, clinicians and researchers also develop devices to improve diagnosis and treatment of pelvic floor disorders, with an emphasis on improving treatment and diagnosis of urinary incontinence. Dr. Damaser is a recipient of the prestigious Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) award. She has over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters, has served on multiple national advisory and review panels for NIH and VA, and has 4 pending patents.
About the AIMBE: The AIMBE is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., representing 50,000 individuals and the top 2% of medical and biological engineers, which comprise the College of Fellows. In addition, AIMBE represents academic institutions, private industry, and professional engineering societies. The AIMBE is the authoritative voice and advocate for the value of medical and biological engineering to society. It is an organization of leaders in medical and biological engineering, consisting of academic, industrial, professional society councils and elected fellows. AIMBE’s mission includes communicating objectively with and responding to US and state government agencies, as well as lawmakers. It hopes to contribute to public policy making that benefits the public.
About the APT Center: The APT Center is one of 17 designated Centers of Excellence in the Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Service of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Established in 2005 as a collaboration between the LSCDVAMC and CWRU, the APT Center focuses on applying the most recent advancements in microelectronics, material science, microfabrication, wireless communication and mechanical design to the pressing medical needs of disabled veterans, and translating them into viable clinical options. Investigators, project staff and support specialists associated with the Center concentrate their professional effort on translational research in the areas of: Prosthetics and Orthotics, Health Monitoring and Maintenance, Neural Interfacing, and Emerging Enabling Technologies. Clinician-researchers associated with the Center include some of the “Best Doctors in America” as named by Cleveland Magazine and Best Doctors, Inc. as well as multiple recipients of prestigious Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the NIH Director’s Innovation Award, and VA Career or Senior Career Research Scientist Awards. APT Center related activities have resulted in more than 60 invention disclosures and 15 patented or patent-pending concepts and prototypes that will serve the clinical needs of veterans with sensory, motor and cognitive deficits or limb loss. For additional information about the APT Center, please follow the link: http://www.aptcenter.research.va.gov/aptcenterresearch/
