James Dahlman Wins BMES Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award

James Dahlman, assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory, and a researcher in the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech, is this year’s winner of the 2019 Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award given by the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES).

The BMES Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award is offered each year to stimulate research careers in biomedical engineering. As the winner, Dahlman will present the 20-minute Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Lecture at the BMES national convention in Philadelphia in mid-October, and the text of his lecture will be published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering.

Dahlman’s lab at Georgia Tech is using DNA barcodes to improve the design and function of nanoparticles so that they can safely deliver drugs to diseased cells. Dahlman explained that using DNA barcodes allows researchers to overcome what had been a laborious and time-consuming process. Now hundreds of different nanoparticle types can be tested at once to see which are more effective to safely deliver drugs. His research has spawned the creation of a new company called GuideRX. GuideRx is aiming to test 30,000 lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) in vivo per year, and building a process that can be scaled up to 150,000 LNPs a year.

In honor of former BMES Executive Director Rita Schaffer, the Society established the Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award in 2000.

The Biomedical Engineering Society is a professional association, which was established to serve as the lead society and professional home for biomedical engineering and bioengineering students, academics, and professionals. The mission of the Society is to promote and enhance biomedical engineering knowledge worldwide and its utilization for human health and well-being.