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SQI: Simpson Querry Institute

Three SQI members elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

SQI members Guillermo Ameer, Shana Kelley, and Susan Quaggin have been elected members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. They are among eight Northwestern University faculty and nearly 270 total members elected in 2023 drawn from academia, the arts, industry, policy, research and science.

Guillermo Ameer

Ameer is the Daniel Hale Williams Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering, professor of surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine and director of the Center for Advanced Regenerative Engineering.

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Guillermo Ameer

He is a leader in regenerative engineering, biomaterials, additive manufacturing for biomedical devices and controlled drug delivery. His laboratory has pioneered the development of tissue regeneration applications of citrate-based biomaterials, the core technology behind innovative bioresorbable orthopedic tissue fixation devices recently cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and currently used in musculoskeletal surgeries.

Ameer was named the 2022 Bioactive Materials Lifetime Achievement Award winner by the Bioactive Materials academic journal. Other awards, among many, include the 2022 Technology Innovation, Development, and Commercialization awards given by the Society for Biomaterials and the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society — North America.

Shana Kelley

Kelley is the Neena B. Schwartz Professor of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering in Weinberg College. Kelley is also the president of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago.

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Shana Kelley

Her research focuses on new biomedical tools for the diagnosis of disease and the development of disease therapies. Using cutting-edge techniques, including CRISPR screening and cellular engineering, Kelley is currently working on development of biomolecular sensors, phenotypic screening platforms and molecular delivery vectors.

She has started four life sciences companies, patented over 50 inventions and earned many awards, including the American Chemical Society Inorganic Nanoscience Award and the National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Susan Quaggin

Quaggin is the Charles Horace Mayo Professor of Medicine at Feinberg where she serves as chief of the division of nephrology and hypertension and director of the Feinberg Cardiovascular and Renal Research Institute.

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Susan Quaggin

Her research focuses on uncovering the molecular mechanisms of vascular diseases. Translation of her group’s findings regarding the vasculature has revealed pathogenic mechanisms and new therapeutic targets for diseases, including diabetic kidney and eye disease, nephrotic syndrome and glaucoma.

She is immediate past president of the American Society of Nephrology and is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, National Academy of Inventors, American Society for Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians, where she currently serves on council.

Note: This article uses text first published on Northwestern Now.