Thao (Vicky) Nguyen, the Marlin U. Zimmerman, Jr. Faculty Scholar and a professor of mechanical engineering and INBT associate researcher, has been elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s College of Fellows.

Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to medical and biomedical engineers. It honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering and medicine research, practice, or education. Nguyen was nominated “for pioneering contributions to the mechanics of soft materials and to the understanding of glaucoma, blast injury, and collagen remodeling.”

Nguyen research focuses on the biomechanics of soft tissues and soft active materials. Her lab uses an integrated experimental and modeling approach to study the biomechanics of the optic nerve head in glaucoma,  fundamental mechanisms of growth and remodeling of fibrous soft tissues, and the stimuli-responsive behavior of biomaterials.

She is an expert on the complex mechanics of the eye. Nguyen has worked collaboratively to investigate the role of the biomechanics of the sclera and tissues of the optic nerve head in the development of glaucoma.