Ex-OrthoWorx Chair, Zimmer Exec Named to Engineering Academy
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Jordan Fouts-
Dr. Cheryl Blanchard has joined Dr. Dane Miller to be among the few representatives of the orthopedic industry elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering. The academy announced today its 67 new members and 12 foreign members, bringing the total U.S. membership to 2,263 and the number of foreign members to 221. Blanchard, from Fort Wayne, was elected in recognition of her “creation and commercialization of biomaterial products and gender-based medical devices for musculoskeletal health,” the academy announcement states. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature,” and to the “pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education,” according to the announcement. Blanchard was the founding board chair of OrthoWorx in 2009, while serving as senior vice president, chief scientific officer and general manager at Zimmer. She is now CEO of Microchips Biotech, a biotechnology company in Lexington, Mass. During her 12 years with Zimmer, her roles included global leadership of research and development, advanced technologies, clinical, quality and regulatory affairs, medical affairs, medical education, health economics and reimbursement. She created, built and led the biologics business at Zimmer through “disciplined execution of an R&D pipeline coupled with significant partnering and business development activities,” according to a release from OrthoWorx. Prior to joining Zimmer, Blanchard built and led the medical device practice at Southwest Research Institute while also serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center, both in San Antonio, Texas. Some of her work led to the creation of Keraplast Technologies LLC. Blanchard brings a unique combination of results-oriented business management skills, technical leadership and a track record of commercializing game-changing products that address unmet needs, the OrthoWorx release states. Blanchard holds a bachelor of science degree in ceramic engineering from Alfred University and a master’s and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering, both from the University of Texas at Austin.
