Christine E. Schmidt, Ph.D., is the J. Crayton Pruitt Family Professor and Department Chair for the University of Florida Department of Biomedical Engineering. Prior to joining UF in 2013, she was the B.F. Goodrich Endowed Professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Schmidt is well-known for her research in biomaterials and cellular/tissue engineering. She is using natural-based materials and electrically conducting polymers to create therapeutic systems and in vitro test beds to chemically, electrically, biologically, and mechanically modulate cell behavior at the macroscopic and nanometer-scales. Dr. Schmidt has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles in top journals such as Biomaterials, J. Materials Chemistry B, Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials and Acta Biomaterialia (H-index = 53, Google Scholar). She is a Section Editor for Current Opinion in Biomedical Engineering, and served as the inaugural Deputy Editor-in-Chief for Journal of Materials Chemistry B (2012-2016). She also serves on editorial boards for Acta Biomaterialia, Journal of Neural Engineering, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research, Journal of Biomaterials Science-Polymer Edition, International Journal of Nanomedicine, and Nanomedicine. Dr. Schmidt's research has had significant clinical impact on nerve repair and post-surgical wound care. Her research is the foundation for the Avance Nerve Graft from AxoGen and the VersaWrap Tendon Protector from her affiliated start-up company, Alafair Biosciences. Dr. Schmidt has received many major research awards and recognitions, including the Clemson Award for Applied Research from Society For Biomaterials, the American Competitiveness and Innovation Fellowship from the National Science Foundation, and the Chairmen's Distinguished Life Sciences Award from Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Schmidt is the current President for the American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering (AIMBE). She is a Fellow of AIMBE, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), the American Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE/IUSBSE).