Tejal A. Desai is currently the Sorensen Family Dean of Engineering at Brown University. An accomplished biomedical engineer and academic leader, Desai has provided leadership that has dramatically expanded the impact and reach of the engineering profession. Desai’s research spans multiple disciplines including biomaterials, tissue engineering, and advanced therapeutic delivery systems enabled by micro and nanotechnology to develop new interventions and treatments for disease.
With more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and patents, Desai’s research has earned her numerous recognitions including Technology Review’s “Top 100 Young Innovators,” Popular Science’s “Brilliant 10” and the Dawson Biotechnology Award. She served as president of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering from 2020 to 2022 and is a fellow of AIMBE, IAMBE, CRS, and BMES. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015, the National Academy of Inventors in 2019, and to the National Academy of Engineering in 2024. Desai was also awarded the 2023 Robert A. Pritzker Distinguished Lecture Award at the Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting — the highest honor the organization can bestow upon an individual who has demonstrated impactful leadership and accomplishments in biomedical engineering science and practice.
Prior to coming to Brown, she was the Deborah Cowan Endowed Professor of the Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); and Professor in Residence, Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley (UCB). She served as director of the NIH training grant for the Joint UCSF/UCB Graduate Program in Bioengineering for over 15 years, and founding director of the UCSF/UCB Masters Program in Translational Medicine. She was also the Ernest L. Prien Chair of the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at UCSF from 2014-2021 and the Inaugural Director of the UCSF Engineering and Applied Sciences Initiative known as HIVE (Health Innovation Via Engineering). She currently sits on the National Advisory Council for the NIH National Institute for Biomedical imaging and Bioengineering and the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA) advisory board. She is also a founder and/or scientific advisor to several start-up companies including Encellin and Oculinea.
Prof. Desai’s work to cultivate a climate of inclusion has earned numerous honors and awards, including the AWIS Judith Poole Award in Mentorship, the 2021 UCSF Chancellor Award for the Advancement of Women, and the 2022 Controlled Release Woman in Science Award. As president of AIMBE (2020-2022), she led advocacy efforts for increased scientific funding and addressing workforce disparities in science/engineering. To foster the next generation of scientists, she has been involved in the National Academy of Engineering Pathways program, the SF Science Education partnership, and has worked with outreach organizations such as the Lawrence Hall of Science, PBS, and the UN Women’s council to develop hand-on exhibits and videos related to nanotechnology and women in engineering.
She received her B.S. from Brown University in biomedical engineering in 1994, and was awarded a Ph.D. in bioengineering jointly from UCSF and UC Berkeley in 1998.
