UNITED STATES: Greek Professor Dr. Eliza E. Konofagou Elected to prestigious National Academy of Medicine

Greek Scientist and Professor of Biomedical Engineering Dr. Eliza E. Konofagou has been elected to the US National Academy of Medicine.

Membership in the National Academy of Medicine, formerly known as the Institute of Medicine, is one of the highest honors bestowed in the field of medicine. Members of NAM are elected by their peers in recognition of outstanding achievement.

In its announcement the National Academy of Medicine elected three members of the Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons faculty—René Hen, PhD, Elisa E. Konofagou, PhD, and Jennifer Manly, PhD.

“We are delighted that Drs. Hen, Konofagou, and Manly have been elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine,” said Anil K. Rustgi, MD, Interim Executive Vice President and Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine at Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

“These three researchers have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service, and their election to the academy reflects on the quality of scholarship that distinguishes VP&S.”

Dr Konofagou's Awards and Honours include:

• Young Investigator Award, Acoustical Society of America, 2002
• New Investigator Award, American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, 2006
• CAREER Award, National Science Foundation, 2007
• Nagy Award by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering – NIH, 2007
• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, 2014
• Fellow, Acoustical Society of America, 2017
• Bodossaki Foundation Award of Scientific Excellence in Applied Science, 2017

ABOUT DR ELIZA E. KONOFAGOU 

Dr Elisa E. Konofagou designs and develops ultrasound-based technologies for automated estimation of tissue mechanics as well as drug delivery and therapeutics. Her group has worked on the design of algorithms that can estimate minute deformation as a result of physiological function, such as in the heart and vessels, and displacements induced by the ultrasound wave itself, such as in tumors and nerves, while she maintains several collaborations with physicians in order to translate these technologies to the clinical setting. She has also developed novel techniques in order to facilitate noninvasive brain drug delivery as well as modulation of both the central and peripheral nervous systems.