Jennifer Lewis Joins National Academy of Medicine

Jennifer Lewis, a Harvard professor whose research spans 3D bioprinting, soft materials and living materials, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. The 21 October 2026 announcement from Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences states that the Academy recognized her work in 3D bioprinting of soft and living materials, as well as advanced techniques for creating vascularized organoids and human tissues. Lewis joins 100 new members this year, including 13 affiliated with Harvard.

Lewis is the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at SEAS and a core faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. Her laboratory develops functional, structural and living materials, bringing together materials science, soft-matter physics, additive manufacturing, bioengineering and stem cell biology. The work has applications ranging from printed electronics to vascularized human tissues, and the announcement identifies potential uses of the tissue technologies in drug discovery, disease modeling and therapeutic repair. The announcement does not report clinical-trial results or establish that a specific treatment has been shown to improve outcomes in patients.

Election to the National Academy of Medicine is described as one of the highest honors in health and medicine. It recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and a commitment to service. Lewis’s election also gives her membership in all three of the United States’ national academies: the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Academy’s 2026 class includes 100 new members, with 13 from Harvard.

Lewis has previously received the National Academy of Sciences’ James Prize for Science and Technology Integration, the Sigma Xi Gold Key Award, the Lush Prize for Scientific Research, the Materials Research Society Medal and the Department of Defense Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship. Multiple startups are commercializing technologies from her research laboratory, ranging from printed electronics to kidney-tissue therapeutics. The announcement provides no details about those products’ performance, regulatory status or clinical availability, so the commercial activity does not by itself demonstrate patient benefit. Lewis’s election recognizes a body of work that combines additive manufacturing with the development of soft, living and human-tissue materials.

Subject of Research: Recognition of a Harvard engineering professor for research on 3D bioprinting and living materials

Article Title: Jennifer Lewis elected to National Academy of Medicine

Article References: Jennifer Lewis elected to National Academy of Medicine. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

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Keywords: Jennifer Lewis, National Academy of Medicine, 3D bioprinting, soft materials, living materials, vascularized organoids, human tissues, additive manufacturing, Harvard SEAS, printed electronics, Jennifer, Lewis