The Society for Biomaterials is the oldest international scientific organization in the field of biomaterials, established in 1973. Peppas has been active since its inception and served in numerous leadership positions, including the presidency from 2003-04. He was the recipient of the 1992 Clemson SFB Award for Basic Research and editor of the premier journal in the field, Biomaterials, from 1982 to 2002.
Peppas is a world authority in the fields of biomaterials, bionanotechnology, molecular recognition processes, feedback controlled biomedical devices, molecular modeling of protein structures in contact with biomaterials and tissues, and controlled drug delivery. Peppas has been at UT Austin since January 2003 and is in charge of the Laboratory of Biomaterials, Drug Delivery, Bionanotechnology and Molecular Recognition with more than 20 researchers.
The citation for the Founders award reads “… for seminal and pioneering contributions to the field of biomaterials and especially for his development of hydrogels as biomaterials. These contributions have provided profound insight into numerous bioengineering processes and applications and led to the development of new biomaterials and medical devices, including artificial vocal cords, contact lenses, linings for artificial hearts, artificial cartilage, a wide range of drug delivery devices, and the recently commercialized oral insulin delivery systems”...
Peppas’ pioneering work on intelligent polymers, biomaterials and drug delivery systems has been responsible for the expansion of the field of controlled release and drug delivery over the past 30 years. His innovative research, seminal process analysis, and his pioneering patents have led the field of medical and pharmaceutical products. Several companies have licensed his inventions.
Among other medical devices, he has developed, patented and/or commercialized:
•contact lenses that do not need to be replaced but once a week;
•intraocular lenses for cataract patients;
•improved materials for cartilage replacement;
•biogels for epidermal release of growth factors to improve wound healing;
•new materials for artificial heart linings;
•materials for vocal cord replacement or reconstruction;
•oral delivery systems of insulin to type I diabetic patients; and
•oral delivery systems of calcitonin for treatment of postmenopausal women suffering from osteoporosis.
Peppas is the author of 900 publications, 25 books and 20 U.S. and international patents. While at UT Austin he co-authored the new monograph Physicochemical and Cellular Foundations of Biomaterials Science (Academic Press, 2004), and the edited volume Intelligent Therapeutics: Biomimetic Systems and Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery (Elsevier, 2004).
He has served in numerous U.S. government panels of the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies. Among others, he serves in the Nanotechnology Technical Advisory Group for President Bush. In addition he has served as a member of the advisory boards of 11 companies and as a consultant of more than 60 companies, law firms and brokerage firms.
He was just elected a member of the French Academy of Pharmacy (2005 induction) and was previously elected a member of the prestigious Italian Society of Medicine and Natural Sciences. He has also been elected a founding fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and a fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Society for Biomaterials, and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. Peppas has supervised the theses of 62 Ph.D. students, including 27 current professors in other universities. As well his former students include many industrial leaders in chemical, pharmaceutical and medical companies.
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