Aijun Wang Named Fellow of Biomedical Engineering Society
Aijun Wang, a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of California, Davis, and a professor of surgery at UC Davis School of Medicine, has been named a 2026 Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, or BMES.
BMES is the leading American professional society for students, faculty, researchers and industry professionals working in biomedical engineering. The grade of Fellow is an honor reserved for members who demonstrate outstanding achievement in and have made significant contributions to the field of biomedical engineering and the BMES community.
The society has elected Wang in recognition of his innovations in bioengineering platforms and stem cell technologies. His advancements have opened the door for tissue regeneration and world-first treatments of birth defects, such as the groundbreaking CuRe Trial combining bioengineering with surgery to treat spina bifida with a stem cell patch.
“I am deeply honored to be elected a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, a community that has played an important role in my professional journey,” Wang said. “To me, this recognition reflects not only the scientific advances I have made, but also the collective efforts of my students, trainees, collaborators and clinical partners who share a vision of translating engineering innovations into meaningful therapies for patients.”
Across his career, Wang has published more than 200 papers and holds more than 20 granted patents and patent applications. He is the director of the Center for Bioengineering in Medicine at UC Davis School of Medicine, as well as the vice chair for translational research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the Department of Surgery at UC Davis Health. For BMES, he serves as an executive council member for the cellular and molecular biology special interest group.
Wang has also greatly contributed to the expansion of biomedical education. He has been a mentor through the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine’s Bridges Program, in which he mentored undergraduate, graduate and high school students in Northern California for more than a decade.
Through the Quarter at Aggie Square Experience in biomedical engineering, an undergraduate program Wang co-leads with Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Jinhwan Kim, he has furthered biomedical education by bridging the gaps between engineering, medicine and surgery.
Recently, Wang was named the program director for the Master of Engineering in Medical Device Development, a nine-month graduate program spanning courses in entrepreneurship, clinical needs-finding and hands-on engineering. His vision for the program is to turn it into a nexus for cross-disciplinary conversations between clinicians, entrepreneurs and engineers, leading to deeper learning opportunities for students and next-level medical innovations.
“Biomedical engineering has tremendous potential to transform medicine, and I am excited to continue bridging engineering, biology and clinical practice to bring innovative treatments from the laboratory to the bedside, while inspiring and mentoring the next generation of biomedical engineers,” Wang said.
Wang will be officially recognized as a Fellow during the 2026 BMES Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, taking place Oct. 21-24.
