Sangeeta N.

Bhatia

Sangeeta N. Bhatia, M.D., Ph.D. (b. 1968)

is an American biological engineer and
the John J. and Dorothy Wilson
Professor at MIT’s Institute for Medical
Engineering and Science and Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science
(EECS) at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, United States. Bhatia's
research investigates applications of
micro- and nano-technology for tissue
repair and regeneration.
 Sangeeta N. Bhatia
Born 1968

Nationality American

Citizenship American

Alma mater Brown University (B.S.,

1990)
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
(M.S., Ph.D. 1997)
Harvard Medical
School (M.D. 1999)

Known for Nanotechnology for

tissue repair and
regeneration

Awards Packard Fellowship

(1999–2004)
Howard Hughes
Medical Institute
 investigator (2008)
Lemelson-MIT Prize
Heinz Award
Scientific career

Fields Nanotechnology,
Tissue engineering

Institutions Massachusetts
General Hospital
University of California,
San Diego (1999–
2005)
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
(2005– )

Academic advisors Mehmet Toner

In 2003, she was named to the MIT

Technology Review TR100 as one of the
top 100 innovators in the world under the
age of 35.[1][2] She was also named a
"Scientist to Watch" by The Scientist in
2006,[3] and Howard Hughes Medical
Institute investigator in 2008.[4] She has
been elected to the National Academy of
Sciences,[5] the National Academy of
Engineering,[6] and the National Academy
of Inventors.[7] Bhatia is the 2014
recipient of the Lemelson-MIT Prize "for
her dedication to the next generation of
scientists, and groundbreaking
inventions to improve human health and
patient care on a global scale."[8] Bhatia
was awarded the 2015 Heinz Award in
the Technology, the Economy and
Employment category "for her seminal
work in tissue engineering and disease
detection, including the cultivation of
functional liver cells outside of the
human body, and for her passion in
promoting the advancement of women in
the STEM fields."[9] Bhatia was presented
an Honorary Doctorate of Utrecht
University on 27 March 2018.[10]

Bhatia co-authored the first

undergraduate textbook on tissue
engineering and was an editor for two
books, Microdevices in Biology and
Medicine and Biosensing.

Background
Bhatia's parents emigrated from India to
Boston, Massachusetts; her father was
an engineer and her mother was one of
the first women to receive an MBA in
India. She was motivated to become an
engineer after her 10th grade biology
class and a trip with her father into an
MIT lab to see a demonstration of an
ultrasound machine for cancer
treatment.[11]

She studied bioengineering at Brown

University where she joined a research
group studying artificial organs which
convinced her to pursue graduate study
the field.[12] After graduating with honors
in 1990,[13] Bhatia was initially rejected
from the M.D.-Ph.D. program run by the
Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences
and Technology (HST) but was accepted
into the Mechanical Engineering masters
program. She was later accepted to the
HST M.D.-Ph.D. program where she was
advised by Mehmet Toner and Martin
Yarmush, received the Ph.D. in 1997 and
M.D. in 1999, and completed
postdoctoral training at Massachusetts
General Hospital.[11][13]

Bhatia joined the faculty at the University

of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 1999
and rose to the rank of associate
professor. While at UCSD, Bhatia was
awarded a Packard Fellowship,[14] was
named 2001 "Teacher of the Year" in the
Bioengineering Department at the
Jacobs School of Engineering,[15] and
was named a Young Innovator under 35
by Technology Review in 2003.[2] In 2005,
she left UCSD and joined the MIT faculty
in the Division of Health Sciences &
Technology and Department of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science.
Bhatia was named a "Scientist to Watch"
by The Scientist in 2006 and Howard
Hughes Medical Institute investigator in
2008.[3][4][16] The Brown University School
of Engineering presented Bhatia its
BEAM (Brown Engineering Alumni Medal)
Award in 2011. Bhatia currently directs
the Laboratory for Multiscale
Regenerative Technologies and is
affiliated with Brigham and Women's
Hospital and the Koch Institute for
Integrative Cancer Research.[17]

Bhatia has two daughters with her

husband, Jagesh Shah.[11]

Research
Dr. Bhatia's research in the Laboratory for
Multiscale Regenerative Technologies is
focused on the applications of micro-
and nanotechnology to tissue repair and
regeneration.

Specifically, she studies the interactions

between hepatocytes (liver cells) and
their microenvironment and develops
microfabrication tools to improve cellular
therapies for liver disease (Hepatic
Tissue Engineering). The goal is to
maximize hepatocyte function, facilitate
design of effective cellular therapies for
liver disease, and improve fundamental
understanding of liver physiology and
pathophysiology. She is also interested in
using arrays of living cells as high-
throughput platforms to study
fundamental aspects of stem cell biology
(Cell-Based BioMEMS) using a diverse
repertoire of tools including chemical,
topological, fluidic, electrical, and optical
manipulation of living cells on chip
platforms. Finally, LMRT is involved in a
multidisciplinary effort to develop
nanomaterials as tools for biological
studies and as multifunctional agents for
cancer therapies. Interests center around
nanoparticles and nanoporous materials
that can be designed to perform complex
tasks such as: home to a tumor, sense
changes in cells and tissues, enhance
imaging, and trigger the release of a
therapeutic payload. Having had several
stints in the biotechnology industry, Dr.
Bhatia holds a number of patents for
both clinical and biotechnological
applications of engineering principles.
She is the author of Microfabrication in
Tissue Engineering and Bioartificial
Organs and co-author of the
undergraduate textbook Tissue
Engineering.

References
1. "2003 Young Innovators Under 35" .
Technology Review. 2003. Retrieved
August 15, 2011.
2. "2003 Young Innovator: Sangeeta
Bhatia, 35" . Technology Review.
Retrieved 2009-09-12.
3. Nadis, Steve. "Sangeeta Bhatia Looks
at Life's Architecture" . The Scientist.
Retrieved 2009-09-12.
4. "2008 HHMI Investigators" . Howard
Hughes Medical Institute. Archived from
the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved
2009-09-12.
5. "National Academy of Sciences elects
six MIT professors for 2017" . MIT News.
Retrieved 2017-05-11.
6. "Eight from MIT elected to National
Academy of Engineering" . MIT News.
Retrieved 2017-05-11.
7. "Four MIT faculty named 2015 fellows
of the National Academy of Inventors" .
MIT News. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
8. "Dr. Sangeeta Bhatia - Lemelson-MIT
Program" . lemelson.mit.edu. Retrieved
3 April 2018.
9. "The Heinz Awards :: Sangeeta Bhatia" .
www.heinzawards.net. Retrieved 3 April
2018.
10. "Utrecht University to present two
honorary doctorates" . 16 February 2017.
Retrieved 3 April 2018.
11. "The Many Sides of Sangeeta Bhatia" .
NOVA, Public Broadcasting Service.
Retrieved 2009-09-12.
12. "HHMI Investigators: Sangeeta N.
Bhatia, M.D., Ph.D." Howard Hughes
Medical Institute. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
13. "People: Sangeeta N. Bhatia" .
Harvard-MIT Health Science &
Technology. Archived from the original
on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
14. Hagen, Denine (1999-12-01). "UC San
Diego Bioengineering Professor Receives
Prestigious Packard Foundation
Fellowship" . UCSD Jacobs School of
Engineering.
15. "Winter 2002 Newsletter" . UCSD
Jacobs School of Engineering. Retrieved
2009-09-12.
16. "Indian chosen for prestigious
scientists' body" . India Abroad. July 9,
2008.
17. "Faculty: Sangeeta N. Bhatia" . Koch
Institute for Integrative Cancer Research,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Retrieved 2009-09-12.

External links
 Laboratory for Multiscale Regenerative
Technologies
NOVA profile

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title=Sangeeta_N._Bhatia&oldid=836424989"

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