Maish is the founding Director of the Center of Engineering in Medicine (CEM) at the Massachusetts General Hospital, which is an essential component of the Institute for Bioengineering and Biotechnology. The CEM, which was originally established with a Whitaker Foundation Development Award in 1997, has developed an international reputation as a pre-eminent training venue for young bioengineers, and a cutting edge research enterprise specializing in the intersection of the molecular and cellular sciences and microsystems bioengineering. Dr. Yarmush has become internationally recognized as one of the leading investigators in the area of molecular and cellular bioengineering through seminal contributions to the fields of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, applied immunology, clinically- and industrially-relevant bioengineered microsystems, genomics and proteomics technologies, and metabolic engineering.  His research pushes the envelope on several healthcare technology frontiers, and he has been credited with many pioneering scientific and technological advances including: innovative cell culture systems, stem cell therapies, dynamic cell and tissue microsystems, bioartificial organs development, targeted therapies for tumors and infections, recombinant protein purification techniques, and recombinant retrovirus production and purification techniques. Some of these developments have resulted in patents and the formation of more than 10 companies based on these advances.

Over the last 30 years, Dr. Yarmush has published more than 400 refereed journal articles; has advised and mentored more than 90 postdoctoral fellows and more than 40 graduate students; and has taught a spectrum of courses from molecular genetics and immunology to thermodynamics and transport phenomena.  More than 70 of his former fellows have gone on to successful careers in academia both here and abroad, and several others have gone on to become leaders in the Biotechnology and Medical Device industries. In addition to his teaching and research achievements, Maish has contributed to the advancement of science and engineering through service as: (1) a member of NIH, NSF, FDA, and Office of Technology Assessment review panels; (2) an advisory board member for foundations (e.g. the Whitaker Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and Doris Duke Foundation), academic-based centers, and industrial firms; and 3) an editor of numerous science and engineering journals.  Maish has also been a frequent invited speaker at major conferences and institutions, and winner of over 25 local and national awards. Dr. Yarmush has been credited with many advances including: innovative cell culture systems, bioartificial organs development, stem cell therapies, targeted therapies for tumors and infections, recombinant protein & recombinant retrovirus production / purification techniques, and microfabricated living cell arrays. Some of these developments have resulted in patents and the formation of companies based on these advances. Among his many professional service contributions to the field of bioengineering is his stewardship and editorship of the “Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering”, the leading journal in its peer group and the #1 journal among all engineering journals (840 in total) with an impact factor of 11.2.

Dr. Yarmush was born in Brooklyn, New York in October 1952. As an undergraduate, he attended Yeshiva University in New York City, receiving BA degrees in 1975 in Biology and Chemistry, summa cum laude. Following graduation, Dr. Yarmush entered The Rockefeller University and obtained a PhD degree in Biophysical Chemistry in 1979. After a brief postdoctoral experience in the Laboratory of Immunogenetics at the NIH, he entered the Yale University School of Medicine, and completed all required course work and clinical rotations for his MD degree in 3 years. During medical school, he became exposed to engineering through his participation as a consultant on a project involving extracorporeal perfusion of plasma from tumor patients using Protein A adsorbents. As a consequence of this activity, he entered the MIT Chemical Engineering PhD program where he completed all requirements for a PhD excluding thesis submission. In July 1984, he was appointed Principal Research Associate (Associate Research Professor) in Chemical Engineering at MIT. Maish received his MD degree from Yale University and completed PhD work at The Rockefeller University (immunology and physical biochemistry) and MIT (chemical engineering). In 1987, he received dual academic and hospital appointments at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).  In 1988, he was recruited by Rutgers University to assume the position of Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. At Rutgers, he was rapidly promoted to assume several leadership positions: 1) Director of the Rutgers-UMDNJ Biotechnology PhD Training Program in 1989; 2) Director of the Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Graduate Program also in 1989; 3) Deputy Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering in 1990; and 4) Founding Director of the New Jersey Center for Biomaterials and Medical Devices in 1991. In 1995, Dr. Yarmush returned to Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital as the Helen Andrus Benedict Professor of Surgery and Bioengineering. That same year he founded the Center for Engineering in Medicine.

Representative publications

Uygun BE, Soto-Gutierrez A, Yagi H, Izamis ML, Kobayashi N, Tilles AW, et al. Organ reengineering through development of a transplantable recellularized liver graft using decellularized liver matrix. Nat Med. 2010 Jul; 16(7):814-20. PubMed PMID: 20543851; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2930603.

Koria P, Yagi H, Megeed Z, Nahmias Y, Sheridan R, Yarmush ML. Self-assembling elastin-growth factor chimeric nanoparticles for the treatment of chronic wounds. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Jan; 108(3):1034-9. PubMed PMID: 21193639; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3024670.

Patel SJ, Milwid JM, King KR, Li M, Parekkadan B, YarmushML.  Engineering a hepatoprotective strategy for preventing drug-induced liver toxicity. Nat Biotechnol. 2012 Jan; 30(2):179-83. PubMed PMID: 22252509; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3609650

Lee J, Li M, Milwid J, Dunham J, Vinegoni C, Gorbatov R, et al. Implantable microenvironments to attract hematopoietic stem/cancer cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Nov; 109(48):19638-43. PubMed PMID: 23150542; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3511730

Bohr S, Patel SJ, Shen K, Brines M, Cerami A, Berthiaume F, et al. Alternative erythropoietin-mediated signaling prevents secondary microvascular thrombosis and inflammation within cutaneous burns. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Feb 26;110(9):3513-8. PubMed PMID: 23401545; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3587271.

Saeidi N, Meoli L, Kvas S, Kucharczyk J, Gupta NK, Nestoridi E, et al. Intestinal metabolic reprogramming improves glycemic control by enhanced GLUT-1-dependent glucose uptake and utilization. Science. 2013 Jul; 341(6144):406-10. PubMed PMID: 23888041; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4068965

Berendsen TA, Bruinsma BG, Puts CF, Saeidi N, Usta BO, Uygun B, et al. Successful supercooled liver storage for 4 days. Nat Med. 2014 Jul; 20(7):790-3. PubMed PMID: 24973919; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4141719

Information

Martin L. Yarmush, M.D., Ph.D.
Massachusetts General Hospital
51 Blossom Street
Boston, MA  02114

View Maish’s Harvard Catalyst profile

Visit the Center for Engineering in Medicine