January 8, 2009

Professor of Bioengineering Tejal Desai was named an Emerging Scholar of 2009 by Diverse Issues in Higher Education, for devising an artificial pancreas prototype which produces insulin for diabetic patients.

Although not currently available to patients, Desai’s device has been tested in rats and its technology licensed to a private company. Innovations such as the artificial pancreas have earned Desai a shower of accolades, including a 2000 National Science Foundation CAREER Award; a 2003 Eurand Grand Prize for outstanding research in oral drug delivery and 2006 Grand Prize for innovative approaches to drug delivery; and a 2006 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from the University of California, Berkeley.

Read the full story at Diverse Issues in Higher Education.