Credit: Alonso Nichols David Kaplan, the Stern Family Professor of Engineering, a Distinguished Professor, and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering in recognition of his contributions to silk-based materials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Election to the National Academies is one of the foremost professional recognitions available to engineers, scientists, and medical experts. "On behalf of my past and current students and colleagues here at Tufts, it is an honor to be recognized by the National Academy of Engineering," said Kaplan. Kaplan's lab is leading efforts in applying tissue engineering to cellular agriculture (i.e. cell grown meat), the development of 3D brain-like environments in the lab to study neurological diseases and treatments, and the regeneration of tissues, organs and limbs. He is also pioneering methods to manufacture biocompatible medical devices from silk.