Princess Imoukhuede, PhD, a leader in systems biology research, engineering education and academic diversity initiatives, has been named the new chair of the Department of Bioengineering. She will take over for interim chair Michael Regnier, PhD, effective Jan. 1, 2022. Imoukhuede will also hold the Hunter and Dorothy Simpson Endowed Chair and Professorship.
Her main research interests are the many signals and receptors that regulate the formation of blood vessels. This field is important in understanding wound healing, but also in several disorders such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Many tumors, for example, produce a network of new blood vessels to nourish their interior cells and sustain their abnormal growth.
Imoukheude also leads National Institutes of Health-funded obstetrical research using both quantitative methods and computational modeling to improve the efficacy and safety of administering oxytocin during childbirth. Oxytocin is a peptide hormone that stimulates uterine contractions for labor and the let-down reflex for breastfeeding.
Read more about her appointment on the UW Medicine Newsroom or the Department of Bioengineering’s website.
