Harvard Catalyst Profiles

Dr. Chaikof was born and raised in Toronto and earned BA and MD degrees at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He completed a residency in general surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital and while a surgical resident, received a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a focus on artificial organs and the design of biomaterials for reconstructive surgery. Following his surgical training in Boston, he completed additional training in Vascular Surgery at the Emory University School of Medicine where he joined the surgical faculty, most recently holding the John E. Skandalakis Chair of Surgery at Emory University, serving as Chief of Vascular Surgery and Director of the Residency in Vascular Surgery. While at Emory University, Dr. Chaikof held secondary appointments as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and was a member of the faculty in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

In 2010, Dr. Chaikof was appointed as the Johnson and Johnson Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. A surgeon and biomedical engineer, he is a member of the Wyss Institute of Biological Inspired Engineering, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, and the Broad Institute. He is internationally recognized for his many original and innovative contributions to vascular surgery through his basic science, clinical, and translational studies. He has changed the way in which patient with aortic aneurysms are evaluated and treated. His work in biomedical engineering and materials science has lead to the development of an advance generation of cardiovascular materials, devices, cell based therapies and pharmacotherapeutics based upon the principles of biomimetics, molecular and tissue engineering, as well as micro- and nanofabrication technologies. In 2013, he received the Clemson Award for Applied Research from the Society for Biomaterials and in 2019, the Flance-Karl Award for seminal contributions in basic and translational research from the American Surgical Association. Dr. Chaikof received the Harvard Medical School Class of 2020 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award. Dr. Chaikof is the Editor of the Atlas of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy: Anatomy and Technique, published by Elsevier in English, Portuguese, and Mandarin editions. In 2014, Dr. Chaikof was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Within the National Academies, Dr. Chaikof has served as Chair of Section 1 (Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Computational Sciences, Engineering Sciences), founding Co-Chair of the Health and Technology Interest Group (IG18), and served as a member of the Committee on Emerging Science, Technology, and Innovation (CESTI) of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). He also served as a member of the Standing Committee of Biotechnology and National Security Needs and Co-Chair of the Committee on Biomedical Engineering Materials and Applications (BEMA) of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM). Dr. Chaikof currently serves as a member of the NASEM National Materials and Manufacturing Board (NMMB) of the National Research Council and the NASEM Standing Committee on Advances and National Security Implications of Transdisciplinary Biotechnology in support of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology of the U.S. Government. He has also served on multiple classified panels for the National Academy Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences and the Army Research Laboratory Technical Assessment Board (ARLTAB).

Lab web site: http://chaikoflab.org/