Alevriadou elevated to fellow of Biomedical Engineering Society

By Elizabeth Egan 

Alevriadou was chosen along with 11 other members of the society to be elevated to fellow this year. The fellows are honored for their impactful achievements to the biomedical engineering community and to the society.

“We are incredibly proud of Rita Alevriadou’s recognition as a BMES Fellow,” said Yun Wu, professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. “This prestigious award highlights her significant contributions to biomedical engineering and reflects the impact of her research within the field. It brings great distinction to our department as we continue to lead in advancing biomedical innovations.”

Alevriadou has been a member of BMES since 1994 and has been attending their national meetings since she was a graduate student. Her involvement in the society has included serving on the board of directors from 2014-2017, organizing and moderating student and postdoc career sessions at BMES national meetings, being a member of the BMES Student Affairs and Diversity Subcommittees, working as an abstract reviewer for BMES annual meetings, and more.

“I consider the success of my students/trainees and the recognition of my research contributions by my peers the two most satisfying aspects of my academic career,” said Alevriadou. “I have supported the society through my research, leadership, and participation in events/functions, and, hence, this honor is very special to me.”

At the University at Buffalo, Alevriadou, who is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, directs the Alevriadou Vascular Mechanobiology Laboratory (AVML). According to Alevriadou, the goal of the lab is to better understand the role of hemodynamics, the dynamics of blood flow, in intracellular signaling and function of vascular cells subjected to experimental conditions that simulate (patho)physiological states in blood vessels, ultimately leading to the development of better treatments for cardiovascular diseases.

“Currently, we are investigating the role of mechanical forces, specifically due to disturbed flow and hypertensive cyclic strain, on endothelial cell metabolism and production of extracellular vesicles,” said Alevriadou.

Alevriadou’s research interests include molecular and cellular aspects of vas­cu­lar mecha­nobiology/bioengineering, en­do­thelial cell mechano­transduction, mitochondrial and free radi­cal biol­ogy, and generally un­der­standing the role of the mecha­nochemical environment on mo­lec­ular/cellular mecha­nisms of cardi­o­vas­cu­lar dis­eases.

Her work has received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Heart Association (AHA), private Foundations, and other organizations. She is a member of the Society for Redox Biology & Medicine, the North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO), the Society for Redox Biology and Medicine, the American Physiological Society, and the AHA. Alevriadou is a regular reviewer for federal and local funding agencies, and she serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology, the NAVBO Vascular Biology Publications Alert, and Physiological Reports.

In 2019, Alevriadou joined UB from the Ohio State University where she had worked since 2003. Prior to that, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, before joining Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as an assistant professor of biomedical engineering where she worked until 1993. Alevriadou received her PhD in Chemical Engineering from Rice University and her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The 12 new fellows were honored at the BMES Annual Meeting in Baltimore on October 24.