Online-only: Grande-Allen elected to AIMBE

2/24/11 6:00pm

The Thresher sat down with Bioengineering professor Jane Grande-Allen, who was recently elected a fellow for the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.How do you feel about being elected a fellow for AIMBE?

It's really nice to be recognized. I was excited to meet all the new fellows, and the old ones too. I didn't really know what AIMBE did before so I got to see that. AIMBE is a voice for public policy for [medical and biological engineering] research.

So you hadn't been involved with AIMBE before?

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I had a chance to go to the meetings but most people there are elected fellows. Once you're elected it's like, "Congratulations! Now it's your turn to speak up and to promote the field and talk to people who offer funding."

What kind of research are you conducting now?

My research has always been centered around the heart, especially heart valves and heart valve diseases. For example, we're looking at calcific aortic disease where the heart valves actually turn to bone. We look at how the diseases are caused and how they progress to help find medications for them. Right now there is no medication for heart valve diseases. I've been working with this kind of research since grad school [Ph.D years]. I always found heart valves really interesting. I've always been working on heart valve disease but now an equal part of my lab works on valve tissue engineering, especially for children. Children are some of the hardest hit by valve disease. It's not like with adults where just one surgery will correct the valve. Children have to have surgeries every few years. We grow cells, intact tissues and cells that are seeded onto a type of scaffold to develop tissue. Most of the cells we study are heart valve cells from pigs but we work a lot with human heart cells too. We also look at making other types of cells into heart valve cells.

Are collaborating with anyone else on your research?

One of my main collaborators is Dr. Fraser, the Surgeon-in-Chief at Texas Children's Hospital. He is also a congenital heart surgeon. I also work with a lot of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons at Methodist too. I know people in just about all the places across the street.

Do you collaborate with other faculty at Rice as well?

Yes. Dr. Jennifer West and Cindy Farach-Carson, who is in Biochemistry not Bioengineering. I have a new collaboration with Joel Moake as well.

How do you think being elected a fellow will aid your work and research?

Once you're elected fellow you're expected to get involved with public policy. AIMBE helps you learn how non-scientists, especially the government, view science and research. I think it will help me to write my proposal, although those are usually read by scientists. But for example, if I got an email saying funding for heart and stroke research was in danger and I need to write my congressman, it will help me know what I need to put in the letter. It also helps you be a public advocate for this type of research. Also meeting new people in other fields could be helpful. I see a lot of the fellows already from conferences but it will be more time to talk.

How do you plan on continuing your research?

One thing you are encouraged to do once you get out of the rat race and get tenure is to take risks and not be afraid of new things. I'm thinking of new ways to look at heart disease and looking to new collaborations. My lab is also looking at new technologies to help accelerate research and creation of heart valve tissue that can be used. Right now I'm doing things I never thought I would when I first started at Rice. I'm branching out and trying new things.

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