From the desk of Dean Michael Bragg

February 1, 2015

Cecilia Giachelli, BioE Chair

Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Cecilia Giachelli, who has served as acting chair since fall 2013, has been appointed chair of the Department of Bioengineering beginning February 1, 2015. She has shown tremendous leadership during her time as acting chair and brings deep experience in both medicine and engineering that will continue to strengthen our interdisciplinary ties and position the department to grow and excel in the coming years.

Cecilia, a longtime University of Washington faculty member, currently serves as a professor of bioengineering and leads the Giachelli Lab for Cellular Bioengineering. She has made important contributions to the Department of Bioengineering and to the School of Medicine, where she serves as adjunct professor in both pathology and in oral sciences and was previously the deputy director of the University of Washington Engineered Biomaterials research center.

Cecilia is internationally recognized for her work in the area of vascular calcification leading to the development of molecular and cellular therapies for chronic kidney disease and atherosclerosis. Projects have included mechanistic studies for novel therapeutic targets and treatment for ectopic calcification in disease, traumatic injury, and medical devices, as well as identifying biomimetic strategies for biointerfaces in soft and hard tissue regeneration.

Her many honors include the University of Washington Postdoctoral Fellow Association Mentor of the Year Award, a Jack W. Coburn Lectureship from the American Society of Nephrology, an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association and fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

We appreciate the time and effort made by the search committee by chair Hank Levy (Computer Science and Engineering) and members Norman Beauchamp (Radiology), Xiaohu Gao (Bioengineering), Vikram Jandhyala (Innovation), Per Reinhall (Mechanical Engineering), Pat Stayton (Bioengineering), Bob Waterston (Genome Sciences), Sally Weatherford (Global Health), and Kim Woodrow (Bioengineering).

Please join us in welcoming Prof. Giachelli to her new position as chair of Bioengineering.

Michael B. Bragg, Ph.D.
Frank and Julie Jungers Dean of Engineering
University of Washington

Paul G. Ramsey, M.D.
CEO, UW Medicine
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and
Dean of the School of Medicine
University of Washington