Setton elected president of Biomedical Engineering Society

​Setton will lead 6,500 members of the professional society for biomedical engineering and bioengineering  

Setton

Lori Setton, PhD, professor of biomedical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has been elected president of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), a professional society for biomedical engineering and bioengineering.

Setton, the Lucy and Stanley Lopata Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of orthopaedic surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, joined the university in 2015 from Duke University, where she was the William Bevan Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Bass Fellow and associate professor of orthopaedic surgery.

She is a fellow of BMES and of the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering and earned a Presidential Early Career Award from Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 1997, as well as several awards for excellence in mentoring.

As president of BMES, Setton joins a prestigious group of biomedical engineers to serve in that role, including Frank Yin, MD, PhD, the Stephen F. and Camilla T. Brauer Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering and former department chair, who was BMES president in 2005-06 and has served on its board of directors.

Setton and the society’s other newly elected leadership members plan to improve industry involvement in the society and encourage a more diverse membership. She will begin her role as president at the society’s 2016 annual meeting in Minneapolis.

Setton earned master’s and doctoral degrees, both in mechanical engineering and biomechanics from Columbia University, in 1988 and 1993, respectively. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University.

Her research focuses on the role of mechanical factors in the degeneration and repair of soft tissues of the musculoskeletal system, including the intervertebral disc, articular cartilage and meniscus. In the lab, her work focuses on engineering and evaluating novel materials for tissue regeneration and drug delivery to treat musculoskeletal disease.

Founded in 1968, the Biomedical Engineering Society now has nearly 6,500 members and is the lead society and professional home for biomedical engineering and bioengineering.