Engineering dean C. Mauli Agrawal receives Palmaz Award from BioMed SA

C. Mauli Agrawal (Photo by Mark McClendon)

By Christi Fish
Public Affairs Specialist

(Sept. 10, 2010)--C. Mauli Agrawal, David and Jennifer Spencer Distinguished Chair for the Dean of Engineering and Peter Flawn Professor in Biomedical Engineering, was selected by BioMed SA, a local bioscience development organization, to receive the fifth annual Julio Palmaz Award for Innovation in Health Care and the Biosciences.

Named after Palmaz stent inventor Julio Palmaz, the award honors one American each year who has made significant and lasting contributions to advance the bioscience and health care industries. Agrawal will receive the award at a Sept. 16 dinner ceremony.

"The Palmaz Award is indeed a great honor," said Agrawal. "I am truly humbled by this recognition especially given that past recipients include giants such as Julio Palmaz and Dean Kamen whose work has touched millions of lives."

A mechanical engineer and materials scientist by training, Agrawal has earned an international reputation for his contributions in orthopedic and cardiovascular biomaterials, tissue engineering and drug delivery. His research has generated more than 290 scientific publications that have been cited more than 2,800 times by other researchers. Additionally, he has edited or co-edited four scientific books, served on the editorial boards of several leading scientific journals and delivered more than 75 scientific lectures on four continents. In 2008, he was inducted a fellow of the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials, the world's most prominent society for implant materials scientists and engineers.

More than a dozen U.S. patents, with many others pending, have been issued to Agrawal for developing and improving orthopedic implants, regenerative medicine devices, diabetic foot products and drug delivery stents. His technology also led to the formation of three biomedical start-ups in San Antonio including Xilas Medical (now Diabetica Solutions), one of the first companies to receive support from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund.

Agrawal's academic career includes faculty appointments at top universities across the country. In 2003, after spending 12 years at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (Health Science Center), Agrawal joined UTSA's engineering faculty. In 2005, he established the joint graduate program in biomedical engineering, the first joint degree program between UTSA and the Health Science Center. That year, he was named College of Engineering interim dean, a position that became permanent one year later. Under his leadership, College of Engineering admissions, programs and research have grown significantly, supporting UTSA's bid for national research status and boosting its reputation as a stronghold for energy and sustainability expertise.

BioMed SA is a nonprofit, membership-based organization, supported in part by Bexar County and the City of San Antonio. Its mission is to organize and promote San Antonio's health care and biosciences assets to accelerate growth of the sector and enhance San Antonio's reputation as a city of science and health.