College names Shang Song inaugural Frank L. and Daphna Lederman Professor
Shang Song, Frank L. and Daphna Lederman Professor and assistant professor of biomedical engineering, supervises students (shown here in The Song Lab) investigating health care devices that speed injury recovery.
College of Engineering leadership selected BME assistant professor Shang Song as one of the inaugural holders of the endowed Frank L. and Daphna Lederman Professorships. The three-year position accelerates bold research in biomedical devices.
Song pioneers organ-on-chip systems and neuromodulation devices. A BIO5 Institute member with a joint appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, she leads The Song Lab in developing novel medical interventions. Her endowed funds will directly support students, providing rare opportunities to model organs on chips.
“We can build blood-brain barrier-on-a-chip, a micro-physiological system that allows us to observe how neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases compromise the brain's natural defenses,” Song said.
The blood-brain barrier regulates the passage of nutrients between cerebral blood and brain tissue. Replicating this highly selective system on a chip allows Song and her students to test drugs that can pass through the barrier to combat neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Song, who also won the prestigious 2025 National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award of $2.32 million, will develop an implantable neuromodulation device that initiates electrical signals to repair spinal cord injuries.
“This funding will help us build a vibrant research and training community and push the boundaries of our field.”