About AIMBE

Who We Are

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., representing the most accomplished individuals in the fields of medical and biological engineering. No other organization can bring together academia, industry, government, and scientific societies to form a highly influential community advancing medical and biological engineering. AIMBE’s mission is to provide leadership and advocacy in medical and biological engineering for the benefit of society.

Mission

AIMBE is the authoritative voice and advocate for the value of medical and biological engineering to society. It is an organization of leaders in medical and biological engineering, consisting of academic, industrial, professional societies, and elected fellows.

  • Communicate objectively with U.S. and state government agencies, Congress, industry, academia, and professional societies by advocating and providing service to the public via medical and biological engineering
  • Contribute to public policy advancing medical and biological engineering for benefit society
  • Work to ensure appropriate private and public investment to advance medical and biological engineering translational research and innovation
  • Inspire, educate, and involve young people who will be the future leaders of medical and biological engineering
  • Promote intersociety and multi-disciplinary cooperation within the medical and biological engineering community
  • Recognize and honor achievements and contributions to the field of medical and biological engineering

Pillars

  • The College of Fellows – More than 2,000 individuals who are the outstanding biomedical and biological engineers in academia, industry, and government. These leaders in the field have distinguished themselves through their contributions in research, industrial practice and/or education. Potential Fellows are nominated by current AIMBE Fellows. Nominees are then reviewed by a subcommittee catered to their professional expertise or accomplishments. If a nominee gains approval from a subcommittee, they are then voted upon by the entire fellowship. Candidates who receive approval from the majority of the College of Fellows are inducted during the AIMBE Annual Event.  Members retain lifelong membership.
  • The Academic Council – Universities with educational programs in bioengineering at the graduate or undergraduate level.  Currently there are over 90 member institutions.  The Council considers issues ranging from curricular standards and accreditation to employment of graduates and funding for graduate study.  The Council also plays an important role in dialogue with representatives of industrial engineering concerning the successful transfer of innovative concepts from academic research into real products that may improve patient care and well-being from all people.
  • The Council of Societies – AIMBE’s mechanism of coordinating interaction among professional and scientific organizations in medical and biological engineering.  The purposes of the Council are to provide a collaborative forum for the establishment of society member positions on issues affecting the field of MBE, to foster dialogue and cooperation that provides a cohesive public representation for medical and biological engineering, and to provide a way to coordinate activities of member societies with the activities of academia, government, the health care sector, industry and the public and private bioengineering communities.  The Council of Societies reaches approximately 50,000 people.  The Council meets each winter at the AIMBE Annual Event, and major initiatives undertaken at recent events have included the formulation of committees to address national workforce initiatives, implementing national innovation agendas, developing consensus statements regarding federal research funding levels, and assessing the future of bioengineering through analyzing its economic impact.
  • The Industry Council – The voice for industry, acting on common interests that will advance the field of MBE and contribute to public health and welfare.  Corporate organizations may be members of the Industry Council if they have substantial and continuing professional interest in the field of medical and biological engineering.

Committees

  • Diversity and Inclusion Committee – The mission of this committee is to achieve greater diversity and inclusion within AIMBE. Increasing diversity includes representational diversity (more members who identify as women or non-cisgendered-male, non-White, non-heterosexual, or differently abled), interactional diversity (effective engagement with diverse perspectives and identities), and structural diversity (organizational embodiment of AIMBE’s commitment to diversity). This committee will also be responsible for identifying best practices and benchmarking compared to other societies and for developing programming for potential future Fellows of AIMBE.
  • Committee for the UnderRepresented and Marginalized (CURM) – As in other science and engineering fields, marginalized groups represent a small fraction of the medical and biological engineering (MBE) community. In 2009 AIMBE created CURM to recognize the contributions of underrepresented and marginalized groups (URM) in MBE and to advocate on their behalf for their advancement within the field. CURM seeks to educate people on issues affecting URMs and provide leadership training and greater opportunities to minorities in MBE and to current fellows in AIMBE.

AIMBE Professional Conduct Policy

Adopted October 2019

Membership in the AIMBE College of Fellows is considered a high professional honor establishing the recipient among the most accomplished in the fields of medical and biological engineering. It is AIMBE’s policy that individuals accepting this high honor must not only maintain the highest professional ethics and scientific integrity but must support and advance such standards in all aspects of their work, studies and research.

Upon accepting membership in AIMBE, all Fellows will agree their memberships in the College of Fellows can be immediately terminated, at AIMBE’s sole discretion, upon proven scientific misconduct, or serious breach of professional ethics per the procedures established by this policy.

Request for revocation shall be received in writing by AIMBE and must include documented findings or actions taken by a government agency, law enforcement, professional organization, academic institution or court of law. Such request, if deemed substantial by the AIMBE Executive Committee, will be forwarded to outside counsel for confirmation and review, and all involved Fellows(s) informed of such inquiry. If, in the opinion of outside counsel a reasonable assertion of proven scientific misconduct or serious breach of professional ethics is substantiated, the involved Fellow(s) will be provided an opportunity to resign within 30 days. If the Fellow(s) subject to the request for revocation seeks a formal determination, the written request for revocation, outside counsel findings, and any written response from involved Fellow(s) will be forwarded to the full Board of Directors for consideration. The decision of the Board is the final decision and there is no appeal.