Robert S. Langer

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For the Australian cricketer, see Rob Langer.

Robert Samuel Langer, Jr.
Cato Laurencin, Christine E. Schmidt, Robert J. Linhardt, Antonios Mikos, Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, David Berry, Isaac Berzin, Kathryn Uhrich, Joseph Kost, Akhilesh K. Gaharwar, Molly Stevens, Princess Imoukhuede
, Guillermo Ameer, Canan Dağdeviren, Laura Niklason, María José Alonso, Jennifer Elisseeff, Kaitlyn Sadtler, Shiva Ayyadurai
External videos
video icon Scientists You Must Know: Robert Langer, You want to put yourself in the position where you'll make the discoveries for tomorrow, Science History Institute
video icon Hundreds of millions of people a year across the world benefit from the technologies that rest on the work of Robert Langer., Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering 2015

Robert Samuel Langer Jr.

Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[3]

He was formerly the Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and

Biological Engineering at MIT. He is also a faculty member of the Harvard–MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology and the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
.

Langer holds over 1,400 granted or pending patents.[4] He is one of the world's most highly cited researchers and his h-index is now (according to Google Scholar, 2023-09-16) 320 with currently over 413,000 citations.[5] He is a widely recognized and cited researcher in biotechnology, especially in the fields of drug delivery systems and tissue engineering.[4][6][7]

He is the most cited engineer in history[8] and 4th most cited individual in any field,[9] having authored over 1,500 scientific papers. Langer is also a prolific businessman, having been behind the participation in the founding of over 40 biotechnology companies including the well-known American pharmaceutical company, Moderna.

Langer's research laboratory at MIT is the largest biomedical engineering lab in the world; maintaining over $10 million in annual grants and over 100 researchers.[10] He has been awarded numerous leading prizes in recognition of his work.

Background and personal life

Langer was born August 29, 1948, in Albany, New York.

He is an alumnus of

Children's Hospital Boston and at Harvard Medical School under Judah Folkman.[11]

Contributions to medicine and biotechnology

Langer is widely regarded for his contributions to medicine and biotechnology.[12] He is considered a pioneer of many new technologies, including controlled release systems and transdermal delivery systems, which allow the administration of drugs or extraction of analytes from the body through the skin without needles or other invasive methods.[13][14][15]

Langer worked with Judah Folkman at Boston Children's Hospital to isolate the first angiogenesis inhibitor, a macromolecule to block the spread of blood vessels in tumors.[12][16] Macromolecules tend to be broken down by digestion and blocked by body tissues if they are injected or inhaled, so finding a delivery system for them is difficult. Langer's idea was to encapsulate the angiogenesis inhibitor in a noninflammatory synthetic polymer system that could be implanted in the tumor and control the release of the inhibitor. He eventually invented polymer systems that would work. This discovery is considered to lay the foundation for much of today's drug delivery technology.[12][17]

Langer also worked with Henry Brem of the

microneedle patch."[19]

Langer is regarded as the founder of tissue engineering in

tissue.[22][23] Bioengineered synthetic polymers provide a scaffolding on which new skin, muscle, bone, and entire organs can be grown. With such a substrate in place, victims of serious accidents or birth defects could more easily grow missing tissue.[18][24] Such polymers can be biocompatible and biodegradable.[25]

Langer is involved in several projects related to

type 1 diabetes by shielding insulin-producing beta cells from immune system attacks.[27][28] He is also part of a team at MIT that have developed a drug capsule that could be used to deliver oral doses of insulin to people with type 1 diabetes.[29][30]

Awards and honors

Langer is the youngest person in history (at 43) to be elected to all three American science academies: the

National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine. He was also elected as a charter member of National Academy of Inventors.[31] He was elected as an International Fellow[1] of the Royal Academy of Engineering[1]
in 2010.

Langer has received more than 220 major awards. He is one of three living individuals to have received both the U.S. National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.[32]

He has received numerous other awards, including the 10th Annual

Heinz Award in the category of Technology, the Economy and Employment (2003),[38][74] In 2013 he was awarded the IRI Medal alongside long-time friend George M. Whitesides for outstanding accomplishments in technological innovation that have contributed broadly to the development of industry and the benefit of society.[75][76] He also received the Rusnano prize that year.[77]

Langer has honorary degrees from 41 universities from around the world including Harvard, Yale, and Columbia University.[78]

Business ventures

Langer has been involved in the founding of many companies,[79] more than twenty in partnership with the venture capital firm Polaris Partners.[2] Success of these companies and Langer's contribution has been detailed by Harvard Business Review:[80]

  • Acusphere
  • AIR[2] (acquired by Alkermes and subsequently acquired by Acorda)
  • Arsenal Medical
  • Arsia (acquired by Eagle Pharmaceuticals)
  • BIND Therapeutics (acquired by Pfizer)
  • Tarveda Therapeutics (formerly Blend Therapeutics)
  • Sontra Medical (acquired by Echo Therapeutics)
  • Enzytech (acquired by Alkermes)
  • Tissium (formerly Gecko Biomedical)[81]
  • InVivo Therapeutics
  • Kala
  • Landsdowne Labs
  • Lindus Health[82]
  • Living Proof[83] (acquired by Unilever)
  • Lyra Therapeutics[2]
  • Lyndra Therapeutics
  • Microchips Biotech (acquired by Dare)
  • Moderna
  • Momenta (acquired by
    Johnson and Johnson
    )
  • Olivo Labs (acquired by Shisheido)
  • Pervasis (acquired by
    Shire Pharmaceuticals)[84]
  • Pulmatrix
  • PureTech
  • Selecta Biosciences
  • Semprus Biosciences (acquired by Teleflex)[85]
  • Seventh Sense
  • SQZ Biotech[86]
  • Soufflé Therapeutics Inc.
  • Taris (acquired by
    Johnson and Johnson
    )
  • Transform (acquired by
    Johnson and Johnson)[87]
  • T2Biosystems
  • Frequency Therapeutics
  • Sigilon Therapeutics
  • Seer Bio

Langer is a member of the Advisory Board of

Patient Innovation, a nonprofit, international, multilingual, free venue for patients and caregivers of any disease to share their innovations.[88] He is also a member of the Xconomists, an ad hoc team of editorial advisors for the tech news and media company, Xconomy.[89]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "List of Fellows". Archived from the original on June 8, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Mcguire, Terry (July 1, 2019). "The Many Shades Of VC/Repeat Entrepreneur Relationships". Life Science Leader. Pennsylvania, United States: VertMarkets.
  3. New York Times
    . Retrieved November 26, 2012. A chemical engineer by training, Dr. Langer has helped start 25 companies and has 811 patents, issued or pending, to his name. ...
  4. ^ a b Robert S. Langer publications indexed by Google Scholar Edit this at Wikidata
  5. ^ "Robert Langer". scholar.google.com. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  6. ^ "1040 Highly Cited Researchers (h>100) according to their Google Scholar Citations public profiles". Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Shukman, David (February 3, 2015). "Drug-delivery pioneer wins £1m engineering prize". BBC News Science & Environment. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
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  9. ^ "Highly Cited Researchers – 2024". World Scientist and University Rankings – AD Scientific Index 2024.
  10. ^ O'Neill, Kathryn M. (July 20, 2006). "Colleagues honor Langer for 30 years of innovation". MIT News. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  11. ^ "Robert S. Langer, Sc.D." Academy of Achievement.
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  17. ^ National Academy of Science report Beyond Discovery: Polymer and People 1999
  18. ^ a b "Robert S. Langer". Science History Institute. June 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  19. ^ a b Trafton, Anne (December 18, 2019). "Storing medical information below the skin's surface". MIT News.
  20. ^ Jaklenec, Ana; McHugh, Kevin J.; Langer, Robert S. "Microneedle tattoo patches and use thereof". No. US20190015650A1. US Patent and Trademark Office.
  21. ^ Schilling, David Russell (February 15, 2013). "Langer Profile. Engineering Synthetic Skin". Industry Tap into News. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
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  32. ^ a b "Biotechnology Heritage Award". Science History Institute. May 31, 2016. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  33. ^ "R.S. Langer to receive 1996 Gairdner Award". MIT News. January 24, 1996. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  34. ^ "Half Million Dollar Lemelson-MIT Prize Winner Announced". Lemelson-MIT. April 15, 1998. Archived from the original on March 6, 2003. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
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  39. ^ "Laureates 2005: Robert Langer". Dan David Prize. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  40. ^ McGarry, Greg (April 29, 2005). "MIT Researcher and Albany Native Who Pioneered New Methods for Drug Delivery Named Recipient of America's Top Prize in Medicine". Albany Medical Center. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  41. ^ National Medal of Science 2006
  42. ^ "Max Planck Research Award". Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  43. ^ "PRINCE OF ASTURIAS AWARD FOR TECHNICAL & SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 2008". Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  44. ^ Lau, Thomas (June 11, 2008). "2008 Millennium Technology Prize Awarded to Professor Robert Langer for Intelligent Drug Delivery". European Science Foundation. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
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  46. ^ "2011 recipients". Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  47. ^ "Past Perkin Medalists". SCI America. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  48. ^ "Biopolymer innovator Robert Langer receives 2012 Perkin Medal". SCI. November 8, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  49. ^ "SCI Perkin Medal". Science History Institute. May 31, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  50. ^ Editor, ÖGV. (2015). Wilhelm Exner Medal. Austrian Trade Association. ÖGV. Austria.
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  52. ^ Landergan, Katherine (January 4, 2013). "M.I.T. professor to be honored by President Obama". MIT. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  53. ^ "Two MIT professors win prestigious Wolf Prize Michael Artin and Robert Langer honored for groundbreaking work in mathematics and chemistry". MIT News. January 4, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
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  70. ^ "Robert Langer, 2019 | Dreyfus Foundation". Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  71. ^ "Maurice-Marie JANOT Award – APGI". www.apgi.org/. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  72. ^ BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards 2021
  73. ^ "I vincitori dei Premi Balzan 2022". September 12, 2022.
  74. ^ "Robert Langer". The Heinz Awards. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
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  76. ^ "IRI to recognize George Whitesides, Robert Langer with top award". R&D Magazine. April 17, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
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  82. ^ Malloy, Shawn. (January 25, 2023). "Robert S. Langer, Co-Founder of Moderna, Joins Lindus Health's Advisory Board". PR Newswire. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  83. ^ Jones, Vanessa E. (April 2, 2009). "Call him the frizz fighter". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
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  85. ^ Gormley, Brian (June 26, 2012). "Semprus BioSciences Acquired by Teleflex for Up To $80M in Cash, Milestones". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
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  89. ^ "About Our Mission, Team, and Editorial Ethics". Xconomy. Retrieved January 2, 2018.

External links

Awards
Preceded by Millennium Technology Prize winner
2008 (for Innovative biomaterials) 		Succeeded by
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