Two mechanical engineering faculty members in the College of Engineering have received national honors for their work in bioengineering and biomedical research.

Mohammad Kiani, department chair and professor, has been named a fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA), while George R. Baran, associate dean and professor, has been named a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).


“I think it is a great honor for the university and the department,” said Kiani. “It shows that people at Temple are doing good work and being recognized both nationally and internationally.”


Kiani, who does cardiovascular research, including targeted drug delivery to infracted or damaged hearts, has been working with AHA for many years and has done grant reviews for the organization as chair of their bioengineering and biotechnology study group.


“The American Heart Association has seen that I’ve made major contributions to the cardiovascular field through my research activities, in addition to training and mentoring student and post-docs who are active in the field,” he said. “I think it is great to be recognized by your peers, and to know that they see your work as significant.”


Kiani was nominated to be an AHA fellow by Steven Houser, Laura H. Carnell Professor and Chair of the Physiology Department in Temple’s School of Medicine, who also chairs AHA’s Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science.


Baran, whose research involves developing new materials or improving existing materials that can be used as replacements for hard tissues such as bone or teeth, has been serving as Temple’s institutional representative on AIMBE’s Academic Council. The council consists of the heads of the bioengineering programs from some 90 colleges and universities.


Although Baran, who is also director of Temple’s bioengineering program, was nominated and elected for his research activities, AIMBE is not a research organization.


“AIMBE is a public policy group that tries to promote and promulgate an investment into biomedical research, primarily by the federal government, but also by private industry,” he said. “There is also an education component in that the organization tries to standardize the various types of academic programs that lead to undergraduate and graduate degrees in bioengineering.”


Baran will be inducted as an AIMBE fellow at their annual meeting in Washington, D.C., in February. “I am very appreciative of this honor because I know that not everyone who is nominated gets elected to be a fellow.”