UPDATED MID-CAREER AWARD

Meet the 2024 Winner: Ramaswamy Krishnan, PhD, MS 

Dr. Ramaswamy Krishnan earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University in the field of bone and cartilage mechanics (2004). Following a brief appointment as a biomechanics consultant at Exponent Inc. (2004-2005), he entered a post-doctoral fellowship in Molecular and Integrative Physiological Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH) (2005-2008). Here, he switched to lung biology, with a focus on characterizing the functional responses of lung cells to physical stress. He continued as a research scientist at HSPH (2008-2011) before securing a dual appointment at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he currently serves as associate professor of Emergency Medicine and research scientist, respectively (2011-present). His research has led to the discovery of new paradigms in airway and vascular biology, including the identification of new asthma medications.

As regards the development of innovative research methodologies, his contributions include: (1) cellular contractile force screening for high-throughput drug discovery, (2) tissue traction microscopy for validating cellular force changes within intact living tissues, (3) a cell/tissue based rheometer to study mechanotransduction, (4) a cryopreservation procedure to solve the problem of limited viability of animal and human lung slices in culture, and, (5) the MechanoWell® to measure macroscale and local extracellular matrix stiffness within animal or human tissue slices. These advances have led to seven patents awarded or pending, four co-founded companies, consulting and scientific advisory board services at biotech and pharmaceutical companies, and more than 60 articles, reviews, editorials, and chapters. Many of these have been in high impact journals including Nature Cell Biology, Nature Materials, Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, Genome Medicine, Science Advances, and the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. He has been a member of the ATS since 2008, serving previously on the Respiratory Structure Function (RSF) assembly’s Program Committee (2014-2024), the Basic Science Core Committee (2022-2024), and currently on the RSF’s Planning Committee (2014-present).

Award Description:

The award honors the life achievements of Robert Crapo, M.D., an international leader in pulmonary function diagnostics research.  Dr. Crapo’s seminal work focused on novel approaches to standardizing pulmonary function testing that greatly advanced our understanding of the importance of such testing.  This award will honor Dr. Crapo by recognizing a mid-career researcher who is developing new techniques or approaches that show potential for markedly enhancing our understanding of the respiratory structure-function relationship.  Nomination of diverse candidates is encouraged.     

The award consists of a certificate and an honorarium, which will be presented at the ATS International Conference.  RSF gratefully acknowledges Medical Graphics Corporation (MGC Diagnostics) for their support.

Criteria:

• Mid-career investigator at the rank of assistant or associate professor, or equivalent
• Emerging record of developing techniques – which may be experimental, computational or analytical and applied at the preclinical or clinical stage – to enhance understanding of the respiratory structure-function relationship
• Normally RSF Assembly membership, but suitable candidates from other ATS Assemblies will be considered
• Nominee’s current curriculum vitae including a list of the nominee’s publications
• Nominator’s letter of recommendation
• Support letters, which are optional but recommended

Nomination/ support  letters should describe nominee's:

• Research impact, including description of development of new techniques or approaches for elucidation of respiratory structure-function relationship
• Involvement in ATS, including any involvement in RSF Assembly
• Service to the broader scientific or medical community
• Mentorship or teaching record

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