Christopher S. Chen, MD, PhD, Deputy Director of the NSF ERC for Cellular Metamaterials, was recently elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine '...For pioneering contributions and leadership in cell and tissue engineering, particularly in the micro-nano-bio engineering of cell and tissue assembly, structure, mechanics, and function. By offering technical innovations motivated by biomedical questions, he has uncovered new dimensions by which cells sense and respond to local cues in their microenvironment.'