Setton receives 2026 PSRS Lifetime Research Achievement Award
Lori Setton recognized for contributions to spine research
Lori Setton, chair and the Lucy & Stanley Lopata Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at McKelvey Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, has received the 2026 Lifetime Research Achievement Award from the Philadelphia Spine Research Society (PSRS) for sustained and long-lasting contributions to spine research.
A renowned researcher on the role of mechanical factors in the degeneration and repair of soft tissues, Setton focuses on engineering and evaluating novel materials for tissue regeneration and drug delivery to treat musculoskeletal disease. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Biomedical Engineering Society, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and of the American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering.
Setton joined the McKelvey Engineering faculty in 2015 from Duke University, where she was the William Bevan Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Bass Fellow and associate professor of orthopaedic surgery. She was named chair of McKelvey’s Department of Biomedical Engineering in 2016. She is also a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at McKelvey Engineering and of orthopedic surgery at the School of Medicine.
Setton earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton University. She earned a master’s and a doctoral degree, both in mechanical engineering and biomechanics, in 1988 and 1993, respectively, from Columbia University.
