22 May 2024
IBME Director Professor Constantin Coussios elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Professor Constantin Coussios OBE FREng FMedSci, Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Oxford, has been elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences for his exceptional achievements in biomedical engineering
Professor Coussios is one of 58 exceptional biomedical and health scientists elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences' prestigious Fellowship in 2024. The Academy of Medical Sciences is the independent, expert body representing the diversity of medical science in the UK, whose mission is to advance biomedical and health research and its translation into benefits for society. The Academy's elected Fellows are the most influential scientists in the UK and worldwide, drawn from the NHS, academia, industry and the public service.
Professor Coussios became the holder of the first statutory chair in biomedical engineering at Oxford at the age of 33 and is co-Founder and CTO/CSO of three medical device companies, OrganOx, OxSonics and OrthoSon. An internationally recognized researcher, prolific inventor and serial entrepreneur, he has achieved notable academic, clinical and commercial impacts across the fields of organ preservation for transplantation, oncology and orthopaedics. He was awarded an OBE in 2022 for services to biomedical engineering.
Under his directorship since 2016, the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Oxford has grown from 16 to 29 academics and from 200 to some 300 researchers, expanding from 4 to 8 strategic research areas to include biomaterials, bioelectronics, sports technologies and bionanotechnology over 5,000 m2 of space at Oxford’s Old Road Campus. In 2022, he became the founding director of the Podium Institute in Sports Medicine and Technology, supported by a £40m 10-year partnership between the University and charity Podium Analytics to create the world’s first cross-disciplinary biomedical institute focused on safety in the youth, community, and female sports.
Working with transplant surgeon Professor Peter Friend (Nuffield Dept. of Surgical Sciences) over the past 25 years, he co-founded OrganOx and led the engineering development of the world’s first normothermic liver perfusion device for improved organ preservation and utilization prior to transplantation, from early proof-of-concept to first-in-human and large randomized trials (Nature 2018), regulatory approval, clinical adoption, reimbursement and widespread clinical adoption across both Europe and North America. To date, the technology has enabled over 4,000 additional liver transplants globally.
An internationally recognized biomedical engineer and expert in therapeutic ultrasound and acoustic cavitation, he further led the first clinical demonstration of ultrasound-targeted drug release in oncology (Lancet Oncology 2018), and, as OxSonics co-founder, the development, commercialization, and clinical translation of cavitation-enhanced ultrasonic drug delivery to enhance the penetration and distribution of macromolecular anti-cancer therapeutics in solid tumours. To date, 25 metastatic colorectal liver cancer patients have been successfully treated as part of the NIHR-funded CEeDD trial at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.
In his University role, including as a member of Oxford’s intellectual property advisory group, Professor Coussios has developed world-leading expertise on the process of protecting and translating academic and technological discovery into clinical practice through well-designed trials. His contributions have altered the paradigm for accelerated development and adoption of novel medical technologies from bench to bedside, and greatly enhanced the UK’s competitiveness as an international healthcare innovation hub.
Professor Andrew Morris PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said: “It is an honour to welcome these brilliant minds to our Fellowship. Our new Fellows lead pioneering work in biomedical research and are driving remarkable improvements in healthcare. We look forward to working with them, and learning from them, in our quest to foster an open and progressive research environment that improves the health of people everywhere through excellence in medical science."
The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a ceremony in September 2024.
