Elazer Edelman
Director, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES)
Edward J. Poitras Professor in Medical Engineering and Science

2020 SENSE.nano Symposium
Monday, September 21, 2020
Opening keynote
1:10PM – 1:40PM

Abstract
We live in a remarkable time—survival from the most fatal and morbid diseases have dropped precipitously concomitant with extraordinary burgeoning of novel biological insights and the introduction of new technology. Technology and science march hand-in-hand to improve health. Yet, the onset of this newest viral pandemic has created another global crisis. MIT NANO and IMES through its CRC have long come together to use and advance technology to address issues in human health and disease. Together, we sense the world around us at multiple dimensions to quantify our environment and anticipate how to influence our world for good. This talk will provide a view as to the power of multiscale investigations and the impact of such collaborations on established and emerging diseases.

Biography
Professor Elazer Edelman is the Director of MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) and holds tenured faculty appointments in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and in the Division of Health Sciences and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the Director of the Harvard-MIT Biomedical Engineering Center and of MIT’s Clinical Research Center, and the current occupant of the Edward J. Poitras Chair at MIT.

Elazer Edelman received Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.D. degree with distinction from Harvard Medical School, and then his Ph.D. in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, and in Cardiovascular Medicine, and currently serves as one of the Core Attending Physicians in the acute coronary care unit at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital of the Harvard Medical School.

His research interests combine his scientific and medical training. His laboratory has earned international recognition in investigation, diagnosis, and treatment of various cardiovascular diseases. He and his laboratory have pioneered basic findings in vascular biology and the development and assessment of biotechnology, especially at the interface of tissues, devices, and materials and, in particular, imaging in cardiovascular disease and fusion imaging. Most recently, he and his students have focused on machine learning and artificial intelligence in the diagnosis and prognostication of critical diseases like aortic stenosis.

Dr. Edelman also directs the Harvard-MIT Biomedical Engineering Center, dedicated to applying the rigors of the physical sciences to elucidate fundamental biologic processes and mechanisms of disease. Many of his findings are now in clinical trial validation. Almost 350 students and postdoctoral fellows have passed through Dr. Edelman's laboratory, enabling publications of numerous papers and patents. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, Association of University Cardiologists, American Society of Clinical Investigation, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine and National Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Inventors. As Chief Scientific Advisor of Science: Translational Medicine, he has set the tone for the national debate on translational research and innovation.