Catherine K. Kuo Named President-Elect of TERMIS Americas Chapter
University of Maryland’s Catherine K. Kuo has been named President-Elect of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) Americas Chapter (TERMIS-AM). Kuo is an Associate Professor in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BIOE), having joined the department and established the Developmental and Regenerative Engineering Laboratory at UMD in September 2020. An expert in biomaterials, stem-cell-based tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and tendon mechanobiology, Kuo’s research is highly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary. Her research team is discovering mechanisms of embryonic tendon development to identify key regulators of tendon formation that may serve as therapeutic candidates for adult tendon regeneration. They also study the mechanobiology of embryonic tendon development with the goal of developing interventions to prevent and treat tendon-associated musculoskeletal birth disorders. Kuo’s term as President-Elect began this January 2024 and will last for three years, followed by her induction as President of TERMIS-AM in January of 2027. With more than 3,000 members internationally, TERMIS strives to advance tissue engineering and regenerative medicine worldwide, generating knowledge with the mission of improving patient outcomes on a global scale. TERMIS is composed of three chapters: the Americas Chapter (AM), the Asia-Pacific Chapter (AP), and the Europe Chapter (EU). An active member with TERMIS since 2010, Kuo has held multiple leadership roles within the society in addition to having been a conference presenter, reviewer, and moderator. Kuo served as an elected Council Member for TERMIS-AM from 2020 to 2023. In this role, she developed and initiated the Ambassadors Program, designed to recruit and support members as active Chapter ambassadors. Ambassadors help organize society-sponsored regional meetings to promote TERM research, enhance member networking and collaborations, and attract new members to TERMIS-AM. The Ambassador Program has already supported regional events in Arizona and California, with the latter attracting more than 240 attendees from major universities and local community colleges. These regional meetings enable research groups with limited funds to attend TERMIS-AM meetings, as well as provide historically underrepresented and first-generation students their first exposure to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine research. Additionally, Kuo has served as the TERMIS-AM TWIG Chair for Stem Cells and Cell Therapies and Development Biology and Cell Signaling in 2014; served on the Scientific Advisory Committee for the 2016 TERMIS-AM Annual Meeting in San Diego; and served as Session Chair for both the 2021 TERMIS 6th World Congress in the Netherlands and for the 2010 TERMIS-EU Meeting in Ireland. Most recently, Kuo served on the International Conference Organizing Committee for the 2023 TERMIS-Asia-Pacific Conference in Hong Kong. In the coming year, she will chair the Women in TERM Luncheon at the TERMIS World Congress 2024 Conference in Seattle, Washington. “Serving in multiple TERMIS leadership roles since 2014 has imparted me with a deep understanding and appreciation for our Society,” says Kuo. “I have enthusiastically embraced my time on the Council by developing new initiatives while working toward current goals. As President-Elect, I will bring the same dedication and energy to continue building a stronger Society for our members.” As President-Elect, Kuo will continue her efforts to ensure the longevity of the Society by elevating the value of a TERMIS-AM membership, diversifying Society membership, and making TERMIS-AM accessible for all. “I envision unique opportunities to expand our society's presence and reach by creating synergistic relationships between TERMIS-AM and specialty organizations,” explains Kuo. “Partnering with specialty organizations could benefit our members, promote diversity and inclusivity within our chapter, strengthen focus areas at our annual conferences, and enable TERMIS-AM to make greater impact in advocacy, education, public policy, and funding.” A leader in many ways, Kuo is known at UMD for her exceptional teaching and mentoring. She is a two-time recipient of the Bioengineering Faculty Instructional Impact Award (2021, 2022), nominated by students for making an exceptional impact on their learning and success through her teaching at University of Maryland. "We are tremendously excited for Dr. Kuo's well-deserved election as President-Elect,” says John P. Fisher, BIOE Chair and recent Past-President of TERMIS-AM. "Her renowned expertise in the field, her dedication to continually improving and expanding the Society, and her vision for the future of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine make her invaluable to TERMIS." In addition to her appointment in BIOE, Kuo holds secondary appointments in the Department of Orthopaedics in the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland, and in the UMD Institute for Physical Science and Technology. Kuo is also a Fischell Fellow with the UMD Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices. Beyond the University of Maryland, Kuo has served in numerous leadership positions within the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the International Society of Ligaments and Tendons (ISL&T). Kuo also currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine and as an editorial board member of the research journals Tissue Engineering Parts A, B, and C and Scientific Reports.
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