Helen Lu

Helen H. Lu is the Percy K. and Vida L.W. Hudson Professor of Biomedical Engineering and a Professor of Dental and Craniofacial Engineering (in Dental Medicine) in the Engineering faculty at Columbia University. She currently holds the position of Senior Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and Advancement and serves as Chair of the Faculty Promotion and Tenure Committee. Since 2001, she has directed the Biomaterials and Interface Tissue Engineering Laboratory, where her research centers on interface tissue engineering and the development of complex tissues. Key areas include multi-functional inductive biomaterial design to guide stem cell differentiation, biomimetic models for cell-material interactions, biomineralization mechanisms, and biomaterials for orthopaedic and dental applications aimed at restoring tissue synchrony in the musculoskeletal system.

Lu received her BS in 1992, MS in 1997, and PhD in 1998 in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, followed by postdoctoral training in chemical engineering at Tufts and Drexel Universities. She joined Columbia as an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering in 2001, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2007, and to Professor in 2014, assuming the Hudson Chair in 2020. Her accolades include the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Early Faculty Career Award, Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE), and election to the National Academy of Inventors. With over 100 peer-reviewed publications and more than 30 patents, notable works include "Functional attachment of soft tissues to bone: development, healing, and tissue engineering" (Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 2013) and "Biomaterials science: an introduction to materials in medicine" (2004). Her innovations have spurred start-ups in medical devices and sustainable textiles, and she contributes to editorial boards of journals such as Science Advances and Journal of Orthopaedic Research.

Professional Email: hhlu@columbia.edu