Columbia Engineer Named Emerging Investigator Award Recipient

During its annual Northeast Bioengineering Conference, NYU Tandon awarded Santiago Correa, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia Engineering, the Emerging Investigator Award.

This award recognizes the outstanding contributions by junior faculty in bioengineering. Awarded to those who craft innovative research, teach with passion and push the boundaries of bioengineering, Correa’s reputation made it an easy decision to name him one of the four winners. 

Correa accepted the award at the most recent Northeast Bioengineering Conference where he also delivered a lecture on recent work. The conference is a consortium of biomedical engineering departments from colleges and universities throughout the Northeast region. The theme of this year's conference was “Engineering the Future of Healthcare”, a theme Correa emulates every day in his lab.

Since joining Columbia Engineering in early 2023, Correa and his lab, the Nanoscale Immunoengineering Lab, have made strides in research focusing on biomaterials, nanotechnology, and cell and tissue engineering. His work focuses on the immune system to combat cancer, autoimmune diseases and infection.

Correa uses nanotechnology to modify biomaterials that can communicate with immune cells and effectively reprogram these cells to treat disease. By prioritizing team work, he practices his philosophy that coalescing groups and teams of researchers with diverse backgrounds and fundamentally different training is crucial in the bioengineering field.

“This award is truly a testament to the incredible work of my trainees who are carrying out exceptional research to find ways to harness the power of the immune system to treat disease,” said Correa. “Myself and my team are grateful for the recognition and motivated to get back into the lab and keep developing these vital technologies forward.”

The recognition as an Emerging Investigator not only highlights Correa’s individual excellence but also reflects the groundbreaking work being done in Columbia’s biomedical engineering department. With a clear vision and an unwavering commitment to advancing healthcare through engineering, Correa is helping shape the future of bioengineering.