Ingber was named “Animal Free Research Pioneer 2021” by Animal Free Research UK for his trailblazing invention and work with Organ Chip technology
(BOSTON) – Wyss Institute Founding Director Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. was awarded the Animal Free Research UK’s Pioneer Medal. The annual Pioneer Award recognizes researchers leading the way in animal free research with the potential to deliver more effective treatments for human diseases faster than current methods.
In 2010, Ingber developed the first lung-on-a-chip and has continued to lead the field by developing numerous other Organ Chip models, and demonstrating their ability to mimic human physiology and disease states, as well as therapeutic responses. In 2014, Ingber launched Emulate, Inc. from the Wyss Institute to commercialize the Organ Chip technology developed by him and his team to make it available to scientists in academia and industry worldwide.
When announcing the winner of the annual prize, Animal Free Research UK’s Science Director Jarrod Bailey, Ph.D. said, “Dr. Ingber has been a world-class pioneer in many fields of biomedical research and innovation for some time, and continues to be so. His work has been pivotal to numerous breakthroughs, enabling technologies that are revolutionizing research and serving as a solid platform for progress towards understanding human biology and diseases.”
Ingber received the specially commissioned accolade during Animal Free Research UK’s international Science Conference in Birmingham, England, on June 28, 2022. Ingber also gave the keynote presentation at the conference. The conference and awarding ceremony were delayed due the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Ingber has been a world-class pioneer in many fields of biomedical research and innovation for some time, and continues to be so. His work has been pivotal to numerous breakthroughs, enabling technologies that are revolutionizing research and serving as a solid platform for progress towards understanding human biology and diseases.
“I feel truly honored for receiving this prize. It validates what we have achieved by advancing Organ Chip technology out of the Wyss, and using it to investigate a range of diseases with impact on different organ systems in the human body, create new therapeutic avenues, and having made a mark with it internationally,” said Ingber who also is the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, and Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Bioinspired Engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Animal Free Research UK CEO Carla Owen said, “The Pioneer Award is a prestigious annual mark of achievement that elevates the perception of animal free research and researchers in the scientific community and seeks to inspire the next generation of scientists. We know that the decisions more and more scientists like Dr. Ingber make to replace animals in their work will unlock the answers to the many questions we still have about diseases. Dr. Ingber is a true pioneer and deserves to be recognized.”