The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Presents Its Highest Honor to Jennifer West

Jennifer West, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia, has been awarded the 2025 Pierre Galletti Award from the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Considered the organization’s highest honor, the award recognizes career-long commitment to advancing the field through transformative research, service, and advocacy.

Throughout the past three decades, Dr. West has been a leading authority on nanomedicine research. In her work, she uses biomaterials, nanotechnology, and tissue engineering to study biological problems and solve unmet medical needs, particularly in the fight against cancer. Her scientific discoveries have led to 20 patents and more than 225 research publications that have accumulated more than 60,000 citations. She is the co-founder of Nanospectra Biosciences, Inc., which is currently conducting human clinical trials for a cancer therapy she invented.

At UVA, Dr. West holds the title of Saunders Family Professor of Engineering with appointments in the department of biomedical engineering and the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Prior to assuming her current role in 2021, she was the Fitzpatrick Family University Distinguished Professor of Engineering and associate dean for Ph.D. education in the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University.

Dr. West earned her bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.