Rice faculty, B.J. Fregly (left), Michael King (the new President of AIMBE), and Todd Treangen (right) at the 2026 AIMBE Fellows Induction ceremony.
B.J. Fregly, Trustee Professor, CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research, and professor of mechanical engineering and bioengineering, and Todd J. Treangen, associate professor of computer science in the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing at Rice University, were recently inducted to The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows.
Election is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to medical and biological engineers, and the awardees comprise the top two percent of engineers in these fields. Membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering and medicine research, practice, or education” and to "those pioneering new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education."
Fregly’s research is focused on personalized computational modeling, simulation, and optimization of the human neuromusculoskeletal system, with the goal of designing improved clinical treatments for movement impairments. His lab is currently modeling patients with walking impairments caused by stroke, knee osteoarthritis, and pelvic cancer. These personalized patient models, or “digital twins,” make it possible to “test drive” a wide variety of treatment options in the computer and identify the option most likely to restore the maximal amount of walking function.
“I feel incredibly humbled and honored to be selected as a member of the AIMBE College of Fellows,” Fregly said. “It was amazing to attend AIMBE’s 2026 Fellows Induction ceremony and learn about the significant advances that AIMBE Fellows are making to address a wide range of challenging clinical problems.”
Treangen has led the development of novel computational methods and software tools for real-time monitoring of microbial community dynamics, infectious disease, and biothreats. He also leads Genome Sleuths, a vertically integrated student research program at Rice, that allows students an opportunity to address challenges in the rapid, accurate detection and characterization of known and previously unseen pathogens in clinical and environmental samples.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to be elected by my peers into the AIMBE College of Fellows," Treangen noted. "Being recognized alongside so many influential leaders in medical and biological engineering is incredibly inspiring and motivates me to continue pushing the frontiers in computational biology for monitoring biothreats and deciphering human-associated microbiomes.”
A formal induction ceremony was held during the AIMBE Annual Event at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, on April 13, 2026. Fregly and Treangen were inducted along with 175 colleagues who make up the AIMBE College of Fellows Class of 2026.
While most AIMBE Fellows hail from the United States, the College of Fellows has inducted Fellows representing more than 35 countries. AIMBE Fellows are employed in academia, industry, clinical practice, and government.
AIMBE Fellows are among the most distinguished medical and biological engineers including four Nobel Prize laureates and 27 Presidential Medal of Science and/or Technology and Innovation awardees. Additionally, 248 Fellows have been inducted to the National Academy of Engineering, 120 inducted to the National Academy of Medicine, and 56 inducted to the National Academy of Sciences.