Simpson earns recognition from national organization
LaShan Simpson
A Bagley College of Engineering faculty member has been honored with a national award by the Biomedical Engineering Society.
LaShan Simpson, an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, is the 2021 winner of the BMES Diversity Lecture Award. The award recognizes an individual, project or organization for impactful contributions towards improving gender and racial diversity in biomedical engineering.
As part of the award, Simpson delivered a plenary lecture at the recent BMES Annual Meeting titled “Reclaiming My Identity.” She also earned the opportunity to have an article published in the Annals of Biomedical Engineering. The award comes with a $5,000 stipend as well.
“It was an honor to share my story during my presentation,” Simpson said. “The vulnerability was challenging, but I feel it was very important to discuss the mental health challenges faced by many graduate students. The culture of academia has been allowed to remain toxic for too long. In my presentation, I issued a Call for Compassion to right this wrong.”
The award aims to highlights lifetime achievements and high-impact activities that are innovative and improve equity among biomedical engineering academia and industry.
Simpson heads the Cellular Engineering Laboratories within Mississippi State’s agricultural & biological engineering department. Her research is focused on using polymers and nanoparticles to develop targeted therapies for vascular calcification.
She recently served as the president of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences and has been inducted into the Bagley College of Engineering’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers. In 2019, she received the Mississippi State Faculty Award from the President’s Commission on the Status of Women.
The Biomedical Engineering Society is the professional society for biomedical engineering and bioengineering. Its mission is to promote and enhance knowledge and education in biomedical engineering and bioengineering worldwide and its utilization for human health and well-being.
The Bagley College of Engineering is online at www.bagley.msstate.edu and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube at @msuengineering.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
Philip Allison | Bagley College of Engineering
