Utkan Demirci, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard University Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) since 2007. He is also an adjunct professor at Xi'an Jiatong University. Dr. Demirci leads a team of 30 researchers focusing on nano- and micro-scale technologies. Dr. Demirci received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering in 1999 as a James B. Angell Scholar (Summa Cum Laude) from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He received his M.S. degree in 2001 in Electrical Engineering, M.S. degree in Management Science and Engineering in 2005 and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 2005 all from Stanford University.

Dr. Demirci applies nano and microscale technologies to manipulate cells in nanoliter volumes to enable solutions to real world problems in medicine including applications in infectious disease diagnostics and monitoring, cell encapsulation and assembly for cryobiology, and tissue engineering. His research interests involve applications of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and acoustics in medicine, especially: microfluidics for inexpensive CD4 counts for HIV in resource-limited-settings for global health problems; cell-by-cell 3D tissue bioprinting; high-throughput blood biopreservation through vitrification (cryo-bioprinting). Dr. Demirci has published over 60 peer reviewed journal publications in journals including PNAS, Advanced Materials, Biomaterials, Lab-chip, Nanomedicine, and over 100 conference abstracts and proceedings, and over 10 book chapters. He has edited a journal issue on point-of-care diagnostics. His work was highlighted in Wired Magazine, MIT Technology Review Magazine, AIP News, BioTechniques, and Biophotonics. He has been cited over 600 times in the past 2 years. He has given over 50 national and international presentations including invited and keynote at various academic, governmental, and industrial institutions. He has served multiple times as associate editor and theme chair for various conferences including IEEE EMBS, BMES.

Dr. Demirci's scientific work has been recognized by numerous national and international awards. Dr. Demirci was awarded the IEEE EMBS Translational Science Award as well as the Chinese International Young Scientist Award by the National Science Foundation of China (2010). Dr. Demirci was recognized by Junior Chamber International (JCI) globally among the ten outstanding young persons of the world (TOYP) in "Medical Innovation" in 2009. In 2008, Dr Demirci was given Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School-Young Investigator Award. Dr. Demirci received the Coulter Foundation Early Career Award in Biotechnology (Phase I in 2007, and Phase II in 2009); Nano-Biotechnology Award by The National Science Council of Turkey and The Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association; CIMIT Award; MIT Deshpande Center Award. In 2006, he was selected to TR-35 as one of the world's top 35 young innovators under the age of 35 by the MIT Technology Review. He is one of the few recipients of the prestigious Full Presidential Fellowship given by the Turkish Ministry of Education. In 2004, he led a team that won the Stanford University Entrepreneur's Challenge Competition and Global Start-up Competition in Singapore based on his doctoral work. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. Dr. Demirci served as the President and Vice President of the Stanford University Student Association. He is a co-recipient of the 2002 Outstanding Paper Award of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society.

Dr. Demirci has been deeply interested in training students and postdoctoral fellows, who serve as faculty in academia around the globe at institutions including DIGST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology), Dankook University, Xi'an Jiatong University. His undergraduate students who published with him are currently at graduate students at Caltech, MIT, Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University. They also hold awards including Marshall Scholarship, MIT UROP research fellowships. He currently teaches at Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology two courses: HST 939, "Designing and Sustaining Technology Innovation for Global Health Practice"; HST 505, "Laboratory in Molecular and Cellular Sciences". He is currently the director of Demirci Bio-Acoustic-MEMS Laboratory (BAMM Labs, http://mit.edu/bammlabs) at Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Center for Bioengineering, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Degrees
B.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, Summa Cum Laude, Ann Arbor, 1999
M.S. Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 2001
M.S. Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, 2005
Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 2005
Harvard Business School Executive Training Program, Leadership Program, 2009

Research Interests
His research interests involve biological applications of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) and acoustics, especially:
 - Microfluidics for low-cost CD4 counts for HIV in resource-limited settings for global health problems
 - Acoustic picoliter droplets for cell-by-cell 3D tissue generation
 - Semiconductor applications, including capacitive micromachined ultrasound transducers (CMUTS) for medical imaging applications

Awards
IEEE-EMBS Wyss Awards for Translational Research, 2011

Coulter Foundation Young Investigator Award in Bioengineering, 2007

TR-35, World's top 35 innovators under the age of 35, Technology Review, 2006

Turkish Ministry of Education, Honor of the Year Award, 2005

1st Place Winner of Accenture Grand Prize at Global Startup at Singapore Business Plan Competition, 2004

1st Place of Stanford University Entrepreneur's Challenge Competition, 2004

Outstanding Paper Award, IEEE Ultrasonic, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, 2003

Presidential Fellowship of Excellence from Turkish Ministry of Education, 1996