Jennifer West is a leading American bioengineer with a remarkable record of accomplishments that spans 25 years. An award-winning teacher, inventor, entrepreneur and transformational researcher, she has been listed as one of the 100 most innovative engineers and scientists worldwide by MIT Technology Review. Her remarkable research has mostly focussed on nanotechnology, biomaterials and tissue engineering, solving unmet medical needs (particularly in the fight against cancer) and studying biological problems.

West earned a BS degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1992 before finishing her PHD at Austin’s University of Texas. She later became the Fitzpatrick Family University Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Associate Dean for Ph.D. Education at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering, with appointments in mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering and materials science. West’s most recent appointment is as the Dean and professor of biomedical engineering at the prestigious University of Virginia School of Engineering, where her priorities include increasing experiential learning opportunities for college students, building upon the school’s research trajectory and enabling a clear pathway to entrepreneurship for students of the University.

A member of the National Academy of Inventors and the National Academy of Engineering, West has 19 patents that have been licensed to 8 different companies, including Nanospectra Biosciences Inc – the company she co-founded that is currently running pionerring human clinical trials of a cancer therapy invented by West.