Introduction to Editorial Board Members: Professor David A. Tirrell

In this second issue of Bioengineering and Translational Medicine, we are pleased to introduce our Editorial Board Member, Prof. David A. Tirrell. Prof. Tirrell is the Ross McCollum-William H. Corcoran Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and Director of the Beckman Institute at California Institute of Technology. He earned his BS degree in Chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Professor Tirrell’s research has made a deep impact on multiple fields including synthetic polymers, membranes, and artificial proteins. His pioneering research in artificial proteins has been particularly inspiring. Artificial proteins are hybrids between synthetic polymers and natural proteins. They may contain amino acids beyond the canonical 20 in the genetic code, and/or amino acid sequences not found in naturally occurring proteins, which endow these proteins with functions well beyond their natural counterparts. Since artificial proteins are produced from artificial genes by cellular transcription and translation processes, they have defined length, sequence, and structure that enable functions such as binding and catalysis, which are not possible by inherently heterogeneous synthetic polymers. Professor Tirrell has