The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation this month recognized Professor of Biomedical Engineering Fiorenzo Omenetto for his innovative research on the uses of silk technology in the biomedical field.
The Foundation awarded this year's Guggenheim Fellowships to 180 of the 3,000 applicants based on the criteria of prior achievement and exceptional promise in their field, according to Richard Hatter, director of development and public relations at the Foundation.
"Our applications are decided on by hundreds of juries of prestigious artists and scientists," Hatter said. "The committee selection process chooses those who are standing out as the best and the brightest in their field."
Omenetto joined Tufts in 2005 and began work on silk optics in 2006 with the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME). He has since shifted the focus of his research toward the unique properties of silk and its potential uses in a variety of fields, he said.
"One of the big insights we've had is not on silk fiber optics, but on the use of silk," Omenetto said. He added that he is working with researchers in his lab on developing ways to integrate silk into tissues to make living devices.
The Foundation awards monetary fellowships to applicants in Canada and the United States based on the need of a particular individual's project, according to Hatter. Beyond the monetary aspect of the award is the prestige associated with such high-level recognition, he said.
"There's no question this has propelled many individual careers," Hatter said.
The Foundation gave awards to individuals in 78 different academic fields ranging from African studies to neuroscience, according to Hatter. Omenetto was the only person to receive an award in the field of engineering and one of only 20 to receive a fellowship for natural sciences.
"Its such a prestigious fellowship among so many disciplines … it's very cool to be one of the few scientists," Omenetto said.
Former Colorado Senator Simon Guggenheim founded the Foundation with his wife to support academic and artistic pursuits in the United States and Canada. It has since expanded from awarding fellowships to individuals in a few dozen fields to those in 78 different fields. Since its establishment, the Foundation has awarded over $290 million to over 17,000 individuals, according to an April Foundation press release.
Many Guggenheim Fellows have gone on to win Pulitzer Prizes, Nobel Prizes and other prestigious academic recognitions, according to Hatter.
"It's a point of pride. I'm kind of humble[d] because a bunch of people who have gotten this award are insanely cool people," Omenetto said.
Omenetto will attend an awards presentation next month in New York City, he said. He first heard he won the Guggenheim Fellowship while attending the TED2011 conference in March. Omenetto spoke at the conference about the same silk-fiber optics research that won him the Fellowship.
"It was massively eventful week," Omenetto said. "I heard [about the fellowship] on Tuesday and I was supposed to talk on Thursday."
Silk is a unique material because it is made from living organisms, Omenetto said, and can be easily integrated into human tissue without fear of immune system responses.
"What we want to do, because of the favorable properties of silk, mainly that it dissolves in the environment, is … to make tissues technological," Omenetto said.
Omenetto said this technology has the potential to be used, for example, to make deeper levels of tissue visible from the outside.
"One of the examples that you get is reflective tape that you implant under skin," Omenetto said. "If you put it under tissue then you can see tissue you normally can't see."
Using similar methods, layers of silk could be placed under the skin to sense specific biomarkers like glucose levels, which users could the access with a cell phone application.
Lauren Klinker, a junior who works in Omenetto's lab, said she has been inspired by Omenetto's research.
"You can really sense his passion and enthusiasm for his work," she said.
Klinker said Omenetto has maintained his passionate yet laid-back attitude while teaching and while in the lab. "His work has gotten a lot of attention, but he takes time to really teach a student," she said.
