Robert Langer Appointed to Whitehead Institute Board of Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Robert Langer, the Kenneth J. Germeshausen professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named to the Board of Directors for Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

The author of more than 800 journal articles, Langer is a pioneer in biomedical engineering and author of more than 500 issued and pending patents. His research on drug delivery and tissue engineering made possible the slow and deliberate release of drugs in the body. His research serves as a foundation for today’s $20 billion drug-delivery industry.

Langer has received more than 100 major awards, including the 2002 Draper Prize, widely considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for engineering. His two latest awards were presented just last week: the Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy and Employment in Pennsylvania, and the Harvey Prize in Israel.

“Bob Langer’s work and life typifies so many of the strengths we aspire to at Whitehead—brash, audacious, risk-taking science,” said Board of Directors Chair Maxine Singer. “His expertise in crafting cross-disciplinary research efforts and professional collaborations will be invaluable to us, and we all look forward to his joining us for the discussions that will shape the future of Whitehead Institute.”

Langer was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1989, and to both the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Sciences in 1992, making him one of only a few scientists to be elected to all three national academies. He served as a member of the United States Food and Drug Administration’s SCIENCE Board from 1995 to 2002 and as its chairman from 1999 to 2002.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1970 and his doctorate in science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974, both in chemical engineering.

“I’m very impressed with the outstanding science and people at Whitehead, and look forward to working more closely with the Institute as a member of the board,” Langer said.