Two Columbia Engineering Faculty Members Join AIMBE College of Fellows

Tal Danino, associate professor of biomedical engineering, and Kristin Myers, associate professor of mechanical engineering, have been inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows. AIMBE recognizes excellence, advances public understanding, and accelerates innovation in medical and biological engineering. The College of Fellows is reserved for the top 2% of medical and biological engineers in the country. Danino and Myers join a highly esteemed group of researchers, including four Nobel Prizewinners.

Tal Danino’s Synthetic Biological Systems Lab engineers bacteria for biomedical applications with a focus on cancer therapy. He has developed groundbreaking advancements in using bacteria to treat lung and colorectal cancer and even “painting” targets that lead the body’s own immune system to kill cancerous cells. Danino was cited for his “seminal contributions to the engineering of bacteria for cancer therapy and unique global outreach through visual art projects.” His recent book, Beautiful Bacteria: Encounters in the Microuniverse, combines science and art to showcase the beauty within the bacterial world. 

Danino received a PhD in bioengineering from the University of California San Diego and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, the DoD Era of Hope Scholar Award, and the Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research. He is also a TED Fellow. Danino joined Columbia in 2016 and is also a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Data Science Institute.

Kristin Myers, who directs the Myers Soft Tissue Lab, was elected to AIMBE “for pioneering contributions to women's health engineering, the biomechanics of preterm birth, and clinical studies of the biomechanics of pregnancy.” At Columbia, Myers studies the biomechanics of biological soft tissues with a focus on the female reproductive system and pregnancy. She leads one of the world’s few research teams creating biomechanical models of pregnancy to uncover the structural mechanisms of preterm birth in order to ensure safer pregnancy outcomes. Myers works closely with maternal fetal medicine specialists at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She also partners with Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Christine Hendon to create accurate digital twins of the soft tissue structures that support the fetus in order to quantify the amount of mechanical loading. In 2024, they launched the Women’s Health Initiative at Columbia to advance women’s health through engineering and innovation. 

Myers received her PhD in mechanical engineering from MIT and in 2010, she joined the faculty of Columbia Engineering. She has received a NSF CAREER Award, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Y.C. Fung Young Investigators Award. 

AIMBE fellows are elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows. With induction into AIMBE, Danino and Myers join a prestigious community of engineers committed to using science for the greater good.