Tejal A. Desai

Tejal Ashwin Desai (born June 3, 1972) is a Professor in Physiology, Division of Bioengineering at University of California, San Francisco and head of the Therapeutic Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory. [http://www.ucsf.edu/desailab] [http://www.bioengineering.ucsf.edu/faculty-tejal_desai.vp.html] She was formally an associate professor at Boston University (2002-06) and an assistant professor at University of Illinois at Chicago (1998-2001). [http://www.ucsf.edu/desailab/Tejal/cv.htm] She is a regarded researcher in the area of therapeutic micro and nanotechnology and has authored and edited at least one book on the subject [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0387255656] and another on biomaterials [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0471331945] .

Background

Dr. Desai attended Brown University where she received a Sc. B. in Biomedical Engineering in 1994. In 1998 she graduated with a Ph.D. from the joint UCSF/UC Berkeley Bioengineering department [http://bioegrad.berkeley.edu/] [http://www.bioengineering.ucsf.edu/] , advised by Mauro Ferrari [http://gsbs.uth.tmc.edu/tutorial/ferrari.html] .

Dr. Desai has always been interested in science and outreach, in particular to minority students and women. [http://nanozone.org/Who.htm] [http://www.nanozone.org/SITEMAP.html] [http://www.nisenet.org/publicbeta/podcasts/index.php]

Awards and Recognition

Dr. Desai has received many honors for her work in micro and nanostructured materials for tissue engineering and drug delivery:
1999 Crain's Chicago Business "40 under 40" Award: For leadership and innovation [http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?portal_id=35&page_id=132]
1999 MIT's TR100 Award: Technology Review Magazine's Top 100 Young Innovators [http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx]
2000 National Science Foundation CAREER Award [http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/career/awards/fy00/state0.htm]
2002 McGowan Institute Award for Contributions to Regenerative Medicine [http://www.mirm.pitt.edu/default.asp]
2002 Johnson and Johnson [http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jnj.com%2F&ei=zHFxRtT8OYyajgGX_KHpCA&usg=AFQjCNEGLDp997k22egjFGfwtGGgJLcD0w&sig2=0OWdAQDXv9o8KxQbsDrXDw] Focused Giving Award
2003 EURAND [http://www.eurand.com/] Grand Prize Award for Outstanding Research in Oral Drug Delivery
2003 Globus Indus Technovator Award (presented by MIT) [http://technovators.mit.edu/]
2003 Popular Science's "Brilliant 10" Top Scientists in the Nation [http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/b6b80b4511b84010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd/4.html]
2004 INDIA New England Woman of the Year [http://woman.indianewengland.com/about.html]
2006 EURAND [http://www.eurand.com/] Grand Prize Award for Innovative Approaches to Drug Delivery
2006 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from UC Berkeley [http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/alumni_friends/deaa/]
2007 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Early Career Award [http://embs.gsbme.unsw.edu.au/index.html]