Linda Griffith
| Linda Griffith | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 30, 1960 Atlanta, Georgia |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | biomedical engineering |
| Institutions | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Alma mater |
Georgia Institute of Technology; University of California at Berkeley |
| Notable awards | MacArthur Fellowship |
| Spouse | Doug Lauffenburger |
Linda G. Griffith (born August 30, 1960 Atlanta, Georgia) is an American biological engineer, and Professor of Biological Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she also directs the Center for Gynepathology Research. She is a 2006 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, commonly referred to as the "MacArthur genius award."
She was raised in Decatur, Valdosta, and Roswell, Georgia. She graduated with a B.ChE in 1982 from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she was a writer and editor on the undergraduate newspaper, the Technique, in 1982, and was named a distinguished alumna of her alma mater’s School of Engineering in 2006. She received a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1988. She joined the MIT faculty in 1991, was promoted to Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering in 1996, and to tenure in Chemical Engineering in 1998, the same year she joined the newly formed Division of Biological Engineering and Environmental Health at MIT. As an assistant professor, she joined a collaboration with Dr. Charles Vacanti and Dr. Joseph Upton to create tissue engineered cartilage in the shape of a human ear (published under the surname used in her first marriage), known as the Vacanti mouse. The Griffith Lab at MIT currently focuses on molecular biomaterials and tissue engineering approaches for regenerative medicine, drug development and understanding disease pathophysiology.
In 1994, together with colleagues Roger Kamm and Alan Grodzinsky, she led development of MIT’s first interdepartmental minor degree, in biomedical engineering, which was launched in 1995 and soon became MIT’s most popular minor degree. The interdepartmental bioengineering curriculum committee she chaired grew into the Undergraduate Programs Committee for the Department of Biological Engineering, and as chair of this committee she led development of the undergraduate major in Biological Engineering, launched in 2005 as MIT’s first new undergraduate major in 39 years. She stepped down as chair of this committee in 2009 to spend a fellowship year at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, sponsored by the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. She currently holds the School of Engineering Teaching Innovation Chair in recognition of her contributions to curriculum development at MIT. She is married to Doug Lauffenburger, also a professor at MIT.
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