Drs. Zhang and Zhi inducted into the 2025 Class of the AIMBE College of Fellows

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) recently announced that two faculty members from McWilliams School of Biomedical Informatics at UTHealth Houston have been inducted into its College of Fellows. The inductees are Dean and Professor Jiajie Zhang, PhD and Glassell Family Professor and Department of Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine Chair Degui Zhi, PhD, MS.

According to AIMBE, election to the College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to a medical and biological engineer. The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers. College membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering and medicine research, practice, or education” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education.”

While most AIMBE Fellows are from the United States, the College of Fellows has inducted Fellows representing more than 30 countries and Fellows are employed in academia, industry, clinical practice, and government. Two other faculty members from McWilliams are also AIMBE Fellows. Professors Zhongming Zhao, PhD, MS and Xiaobo Zhou, PhD were inducted in 2023.

AIMBE notes that Dean Zhang was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows “for contributions to Health IT & Biomedical/Medical Informatics through leadership/research/service across national & international research/education/professional society communities.” The organization also stated that Professor Zhi was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows “for contributions in medical AI, imaging genetics, and population genetics informatics, and for leadership in shaping policy and research priorities.”

A formal induction ceremony was held during the AIMBE Annual Event in Arlington, Virginia on March 31. Photos from the ceremony can be found online. Drs. Zhang and Zhi, along with 161 of their peers, make up the AIMBE College of Fellows Class of 2025.

AIMBE Fellows are among the most distinguished medical and biological engineers including four Nobel Prize laureates and 27 Presidential Medal of Science and/or Technology and Innovation awardees. Additionally, 233 Fellows have been inducted to the National Academy of Engineering, 120 inducted to the National Academy of Medicine, and 51 inducted to the National Academy of Sciences.