Nicholas Peppas, Sc.D.

Nicholas A. Peppas, Sc.D., is the Cockrell Family Regents Chaired Professor in the Departments of Chemical, Biomedical Engineering, Pediatrics, Surgery and Pharmacy, and director of the Institute of Biomaterials, Drug Delivery and Regenerative Medicine of The University of Texas at Austin. His work in biomaterials, drug delivery bionanotechnology and nanomaterials follows a multidisciplinary approach by blending modern molecular and cellular biology with engineering principles to design the next-generation of therapeutic agent release systems for treatment of diabetes, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases. He has 161,000 citations with H=189 and is ranked no. 2 BME/ChE scientist, Stanford Report (2020). His inventions include articular cartilage, new vocal cords, non-thrombogenic biomaterials and artificial organs, delivery systems for insulin (diabetes), calcitonin (osteoporosis), interferon-beta (multiple sclerosis) and other applications.

Peppas has received the Founders (Simon Ramo) Award of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE, 2012) and the Adam Yarmolinsky Award of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM, 2018), the highest recognitions of these two academies. Italy bestowed upon him the Giulio Natta Medal (2012) an Germany the 1995 APV Medal for Distinguished Contributions. Other major awards include: from AIChE the Founders, William H. Walker, Jay Bailey, Institute Lecture, Bioengineering and Stine Materials Awards; from the Society for Biomaterials the Founders and Clemson Awards; from the American Chemical Society the Herman Mark and the Applied Polymer Science Awards; from BMES the Pritzker Medal and the Distinguished Biomedical Scientist Awards; from ASEE the highest educational recognition in the U.S., the Benjamin Carver Lamme Award; the 2017 Inaugural Pioneer in Nanotechnology Award from Johns Hopkins University; the 2010 Acta Biomaterialia Gold Medal from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists; the Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist Award; the Dale E. Wurster Award in Pharmaceutics; the Research Achievement Award in Pharmaceutical Technology; and from the Controlled Release Society, the Founders, Eurand, Heller and Capsugel Awards.

Peppas is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors. He is also a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the Korean Academy of Science and Technology, the Indian National Academy of Engineering, the European Academy, the National Academy of France, the Royal National Academy of Pharmacy of Spain, the Academy of Athens, the Canadian Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is the deputy editor of Science Advances and editor-in-chief of Regenerative Biomaterials (Oxford). He is also a fellow of AAAS, AIChE, APS, ACS, MRS, SFB, BMES, AIMBE, CRS, AAPS and ASEE, and has thirteen honorary doctorates from France, Spain, Belgium, Greece, China and Slovenia.