Johnna Temenoff Receives Rosalind Franklin Award in Biotechnology and Regenerative Medicine

The Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience is excited to announce that Johnna Temenoff has received a Rosalind Franklin Award in Biotechnology and Regenerative Medicine. Temenoff is the Carol Ann and David D. Flanagan Professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. She is also the director of the NSF Engineering Research Center in Cell Manufacturing Technologies and the Marcus Center for Therapeutic Cell Characterization and Manufacturing. 

The Rosalind Franklin Society Awards are given annually to recognize outstanding scientific papers from women and minorities and, in partnership with Mary Ann Liebert Inc., the Rosalind Franklin Society has awarded $100,000 to exceptional researchers featured in their 2023 anthology. The anthology includes the biography of each winner and an abstract of their published paper. Temenoff is among 14 award winners in biotechnology and regenerative medicine.  

Her paper features a collaboration with former IBB researcher Manu Platt and current IBB researcher Younan Xia to develop a new controlled release platform for the localized delivery of a drug that can inhibit enzymatic activity to reduce tissue damage in orthopedic conditions such as osteoarthritis and rotator cuff tears.

“I am extremely honored to receive this award from the Rosalind Franklin Society for our publication in Tissue Engineering Methods (Part C),” said Temenoff. “I remember first hearing about Franklin’s pioneering work in my undergraduate biochemistry class and she has always been an inspiration to me. Special thanks and recognition goes to my laboratory, especially former trainee Elda Trevino, who led this work.” 

Temenoff’s research is focused on scaling culture of therapeutic cells and developing new biomaterials as carriers for proteins and cells for use in regenerative medicine applications. Her laboratory focuses primarily on promoting the repair of orthopedic tissues, including cartilage, tendon, and muscle.

Find more award details here.