Dr. Thomas Webster, Ph.D.

Dr. Thomas Webster directs the Nanomedicine Laboratory at Northeastern University which designs, synthesizes, and evaluates nanomaterials for various implant applications. Nanomaterials are central to the field of nanotechnology and are materials with one dimension less than 100 nm. Tissues investigated include bone, bladder, vascular, cartilage, dental, and the nervous system. His degrees are in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh (B.S., 1995) and in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (M.S., 1997; Ph.D., 2000). He was appointed Department Chair of Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University in 2012 in which the Department broke the record for the fastest increase in U.S. News and World Report ranking over a five year period. Webster has graduated/supervised over 189 visiting faculty, clinical fellows, post-doctoral students, and thesis completing B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. students. To date, his lab group has generated over 13 textbooks, 68 book chapters, 276 invited presentations, at least 583 peer-reviewed literature articles and/or conference proceedings, at least 867 conference presentations, and 42 provisional or full patents. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Nanomedicine (pioneering the open-access format). Prof. Webster currently directs or co-directs several centers in the area of biomaterials: The Center for Natural and Tropical Biomaterials (Medellin, Colombia), The Center for Pico and Nanomedicine (Wenzhou China), and The International Materials Research Center (Soochow, China). Prof. Webster has received numerous honors including but not limited to: 2012, Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE, representing the top 2% of all medical and biological engineers); 2013, Fellow, Biomedical Engineering Society; 2015, Wenzhou 580 Award; 2015, Zheijang 1000 Talent Program; 2016, International Materials Research Chinese Academy of Science Lee-Hsun Lecture Award; 2016, International College of Fellows, Biomaterials Science and Engineering; 2016, Acta Biomaterialia Silver Award; 2018, Fellow, National Academy of Inventors; 2019, Overseas Fellow, Royal Society of Medicine (UK); and 2019, Fellow, International Journal of Nanomedicine. He also served as the President of the U.S. Society For Biomaterials. He has appeared on BBC, NBC, ABC, Fox News, the Weather Channel, the Discovery Channel, and the recent special ‘Year Million’ TV series on National Geographic talking about the future of medicine and science.