LCN Professor Molly Stevens has been elected to be one of the 37 new International Honorary Members of the Academy from 16 countries. she will contribute to the Academy’s mission to advance the public good. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was founded in 1780 and honours excellence and convenes leaders to examine new ideas. This year, 261 new members have been elected to the Academy as part of its tradition of recognising accomplishments and leadership in academia, the arts, industry, public policy and research.
Molly has made ground-breaking contributions to bioengineering and biomaterials. She designs and creates new materials to solve challenges in healthcare from biosensing to regenerative medicine.
One important breakthrough is in creating affordable ultrasensitive biosensors for diagnosing disease. The technology, based on biofunctionalised nanomaterials mimics the biological activity of enzymes in the body providing exquisite sensitivity. She tailors the biosensing system to different infectious and non-communicable diseases. Her approach provides such sensitivity that diseases like HIV and cancer can be detected early enough for beneficial intervention. Her rapid pivot to detecting COVID-19 illustrates the versatility and agility of her work.
In addition to her election to the American Academy, Professor Stevens has been elected to Fellowships in eight academies including the Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering and the US National Academy of Engineering. She inspires people through many engaging talks and seminars and, in 2020, she discussed the future of diagnostic technologies and her vision to deploy innovative healthcare technology to every corner of the world as an invited speaker at the World Economic Forum.
