William Federspiel Receives the 2020-2021 Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award
PITTSBURGH (April 28, 2021) ... The current COVID-19 pandemic has not only shaken the healthcare industry but also delivered more than a year of social and economic disruption across the globe. During this time, innovators at the University of Pittsburgh quickly adapted their research to meet new safety standards and managed to tackle the effects of the pandemic.
On April 22, the Innovation Institute recognized Pitt faculty, students and staff who thrived, despite these unprecedented circumstances, at its 2020-2021 Celebration of Innovation.
William Federspiel, John A. Swanson Professor of Bioengineering, received the Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award for his consistent dedication to achieving societal impact through commercial application of his research. This prestigious award honors Professor Mickle, a Pitt innovator who holds the University record for invention disclosures filed, patents issued, and startups formed.
“I am honored and thankful to be this year’s recipient of the Marlin Mickle Innovation Award. I’m also humbled knowing many of the past recipients of this award,” said Federspiel, who also holds appointments in chemical engineering, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, critical care medicine, and the Clinical Translation Institute. “This award has personal meaning for me. I always knew Marlin to be a scholar and an innovator, but through conversation, I recognized that he was the ultimate gentleman and extremely humble.”
Federspiel directs the Medical Devices Laboratory wherein clinically significant devices are developed for the treatment of pulmonary and cardiovascular ailments by utilizing engineering principles of fluid flow and mass transfer. He is also a co-founder of ALung Technologies, a Pittsburgh-based medical device company, at which he now serves as head of the scientific advisory board.
Among Federspiel’s innovations is the Hemolung® Respiratory Assist System (RAS), a minimally invasive device that does the work of the lungs by removing carbon dioxide from the blood. During the coronavirus pandemic, the device received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for COVID-19.
“It is an amazingly rewarding experience to develop technologies that help save lives,” Federspiel said. “[ALung Technologies] did an amazing job creating the Hemolung RAS system that was seeded in my laboratory.
“Last year we experienced the beginning of a once in a lifetime pandemic. While I was already proud that the Hemolung RAS device was in FDA clinical trials for approval, I was ecstatic when I learned the company sought and obtained EUA authorization from the FDA to treat severe COVID-19 patients,” he added. “Obviously, these are circumstances I would have never envisioned 25 years ago when I joined Pitt. It came from the hard work of many individuals both at the University and the company.”
Click here to watch Dr. Federspiel’s acceptance speech.
To date, 97 COVID-19 patients have been treated using the Hemolung® RAS device, and the company has experienced increased demand as a result of the pandemic.
Federspiel has developed additional artificial lung platforms that combine fiber technology with cellular and biomolecular components to create biohybrid artificial lung tissue and bioactive hollow fibers. Some of his other innovations include a membrane and particle-based blood purification devices for use in critical care settings; improved transport models for drug delivery from nanoparticles and microparticles; and oxygen depletion devices for blood storage systems that will extend the shelf life of red cell units and deliver red cells of higher efficacy and lower toxicity for transfusion therapy.
“Although publication is one of the core activities of academia, the ultimate goal of bioengineering research is to make a real-world impact, e.g., improve health care. Bill has dedicated his career to translating novel research findings into improved treatments of cardiopulmonary diseases – this is perhaps his highest contribution,” said Sanjeev Shroff, Distinguished Professor and Gerald E. McGinnis Chair of Bioengineering.
During his time at Pitt, Federspiel has submitted 32 invention disclosures, been issued 14 patents, and has had his work licensed 11 times. He is an elected Fellow of several prestigious professional organizations such as the National Academy of Inventors, the Biomedical Engineering Society, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs. In 2019, he received the Carnegie Science Award for Life Sciences.
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