Treena Livingston Arinzeh

Professor Treena Livingston Arinzeh is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University (since 2022) and a co-leader of an Integrated Research Thrust (IRT) as well as Co-director of the NSF Science and Technology Center for Engineering Mechanobiology (CEMB). Previously, she served as Distinguished Professor and founding faculty member at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), where she also directed the graduate program and served as interim chair.

Education:

• B.S. Mechanical Engineering – Rutgers University
• M.S.E. Biomedical Engineering – Johns Hopkins University
• Ph.D. Bioengineering – University of Pennsylvania

Research Focus: Her laboratory (Tissue Engineering and Active Biomaterials—TEAM Lab) develops functional biomaterials and tissue engineering strategies to regenerate bone, cartilage, and neural tissues. Central themes include:

• Allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapies for bone repair
• Piezoelectric smart materials that supply electrical cues without external electrodes
• Glycosaminoglycan-mimetic scaffolds for growth-factor-driven tissue repair
• Mechanobiology of stem cell fate decisions

Scientific Awards & Honors:

• Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) – 2003
• Fellow – National Academy of Inventors (2021), AIMBE (2013), BMES (2017)
• Black Engineer of the Year Educational Leadership Award (2013)
• Thomas Edison Patent Award (2017)
• New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame Award (2013)
• George Bugliarello Prize (2018)

Grants, Leadership & Service: She has secured numerous NSF and Coulter Foundation translational grants, holds 15 issued patents, serves on the editorial boards of Science Advances and Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: Part A, and mentors graduate students and postdocs in the TEAM Laboratory.