John P. Fisher Elected Chair of the Council of Chairs

Announced on October 11, 2023 at the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA, John P. Fisher, Chair of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BIOE) at the University of Maryland, has been named Chair of the Council of Chairs for 2025.

The Council of Chairs (CoC) is a national assembly of more than 150 bioengineering and biomedical engineering department chairs. Supported by BMES, the Council meets throughout the year to help guide bioengineering and biomedical engineering academic units across the country as well as the biomedical engineering field as a whole.

Recently elected to the BMES Board of Directors, Fisher has been a long-time, active member of the Society since 2003. He has served in various roles, including abstract reviewer, session chair, and track chair in numerous Annual BMES Meetings. In 2016, Fisher was named a Fellow of BMES, and in 2018, he was Co-Chair of the BMES Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, spearheading the large celebration of the BMES 50th Anniversary.

Established in 1968, BMES is the world’s leading professional society for students, faculty, researchers, and industry professionals in biomedical engineering. With over 6,800 members, the society is committed to fostering an inclusive community to advance human health through education, discovery, and translation.

Now serving both on the BMES Board of Directors and as a leader among the Council of Chairs, Fisher is looking forward to guiding positive impact among the biomedical engineering community.

“With the Council of Chairs, I aim to address the health, equity, and economic challenges experienced in our communities today,” says Fisher, who is MPower Professor, Distinguished-Scholar Teacher, and Fischell Family Distinguished Professor at UMD. He is also Director of the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Lab at UMD, where he leads his research team in investigating biomaterials, stem cells, bioprinting, and bioreactors for the regeneration of lost tissues.

“Historically, I have advocated for enhanced support for students and young investigators in biomedical engineering. Key initiatives I would like to bring with me to the CoC include reducing financial barriers to education and research; encouraging mentorship; and expanding opportunities for positively impacting our broader communities.”

Fisher currently serves as Past-President of the Americas Chapter of TERMIS and was the Co-Chair of the 2014 TERMIS-Americas Annual Meeting. In his TERMIS leadership roles, Fisher led efforts to broaden the TERMIS-Americas Chapter from North America to the entire Americas, established the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee within the chapter, and participated in a delegation to South Africa to launch Africa's first tissue engineering society.

In addition, Dr. Fisher currently serves as the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Tissue Engineering while serving on the editorial boards of key biomedical engineering journals such as the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A; Bioprinting; Biofabrication; and the Journal of Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine.

Fisher will serve as Chair-Elect on the CoC during 2024 before beginning his term as Chair in 2025.