Engineer of Change

A chemical engineer walks into a biology lab . . . and revolutionizes bioengineering. How Robert Langer blazed a trail in drug delivery and regenerative medicine.

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ROBERT S. LANGER
David H. Koch Institute Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
DONNA COVENEY
Bob Langer follows through.

When we meet for our arranged interview in the bridal suite of a regal northern Kyoto hotel last November, Langer is asking those in the room for the e-mail address of another journalist he’d just spoken with: he wants to send her the link to an article they had discussed on the first patient being treated in Arizona as part of a clinical trial evaluating a biocompatible polymer-based device for spinal-cord injury. He’s in town to accept the 2014 Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology, in recognition of his achievements in drug delivery and regenerative medicine. This prize is the latest in a string of awards he has collected over a more-than-40-year career in biomedical research.

In addition to these honors, Langer, one of only 11 ...

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