Christopher Contag inducted into the 2025 class of the AIMBE College of Fellows
Christopher Contag, MGI Professor and Director of the Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, was inducted into the 2025 American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, or AIMBE, College of Fellows.
Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers and is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to these fields.
Contag, the James and Kathleen Cornelius endowed chair, was nominated, reviewed and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows “for pioneering imaging tools that accelerated drug development, transformed many fields of research and laid the foundation for molecular imaging.”
Contag’s research focuses on developing advanced imaging technologies that provide real-time insights into biological processes. His lab has created innovative tools that allow scientists to study disease progression and immune system responses without invasive procedures. By designing miniaturized imaging devices, such as confocal microscopes and Raman endoscopes, his team is advancing the ability to visualize tissues at the cellular level inside the body. These cutting-edge technologies have the potential to revolutionize disease diagnosis, enabling clinicians to detect abnormalities in real time rather than relying on traditional biopsy methods.
A formal induction ceremony was held March 31 during the AIMBE Annual Event at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Contag was inducted along with 171 colleagues who make up the AIMBE College of Fellows Class of 2025.
While most AIMBE Fellows hail from the United States, the College of Fellows has inducted Fellows representing more than 30 countries. AIMBE Fellows are employed in academia, industry, clinical practice and government.
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.
“It is an honor to be recognized by AIMBE,” Contag said. “My training and research had been largely in the field of microbiology, specifically virology, and this training laid a solid foundation for asking ‘what if…?’ Just asking ‘what if…’ led me to help design and engineer systems that could answer questions in the fields of microbiology, cancer biology, immunology, stem cell biology, extracellular vesicle biology and regenerative medicine—just ask the question and see where you find your answers.”