Rice University’s Jane Grande-Allen, one of the world’s foremost experts on the biomechanics of heart-valve tissue, has won an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association.

The award, which includes a five-year research grant, recognizes midcareer scientists who have shown “unusual promise and an established record of accomplishments.” Grande-Allen, associate professor of bioengineering and a faculty investigator in Rice’s BioScience Research Collaborative, is the first Rice faculty member to win the award.

“It’s very competitive, in part because there aren’t nearly as many awards for established investigators as there are for people who are just starting out,” Grande-Allen said. “I am completely astounded and delighted that I won it. It’s going to support some of the most exciting research I’ve ever undertaken.”