UCI Professor Who Changed Emergency Medicine Elected to Elite Academy

Kyriacos Athanasiou, a distinguished professor of biomedical engineering at UC Irvine, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, adding to his previous memberships in the National Academies of Inventors, Medicine, and Engineering. - Invented the EZ-10 intraosseous infusion device, now used worldwide by paramedics to deliver fluids directly into bone marrow when veins are collapsed.

- Has launched six biomedical startups and guided 15 products through FDA approvals. - Currently developing engineered cartilage from rib progenitor cells to treat joint, spine, and temporomandibular joint disorders, aiming to help millions suffering from cartilage maladies.

- Credits UCI's translational research ecosystem, particularly Beall Applied Innovation, for supporting his work from discovery to commercialization. Athanasiou's career began with a tragic motorcycle accident case that inspired his life-saving invention, and he now focuses on alleviating chronic pain for conditions that disproportionately affect young women.