John Linehan

Professor, Northwestern University
Email: linehan @ northwestern.edu

In September 2007, John Linehan was appointed Professor of Bioengineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and Professor of Medicine in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Since 2005, he has been a Consulting Professor of Bioengineering in Stanford University's Department of Bioengineering and the Biodesign Program. In Biodesign, he took the lead in the development of a new program to train young physicians and engineers from developing countries in the medical-technology innovation process. The goal is train leaders able to create innovation programs in their countries that address clinical needs in a resource-challenged environment. Dr. Linehan is also the Executive Editor of Bmesource.org, an open-source web portal in biomedical engineering.

Dr. Linehan was PI on a 2007 study to develop a comprehensive model of the medical device iterative-development process. The goal was to elucidate the way medical devices are developed, approved, brought to market, and subsequently improved/evolved.

Dr. Linehan was Vice President of the Whitaker Foundation from 1998 - 2005. He was responsible for implementing and managing major biomedical engineering educational grant programs and for creating and organizing a number of unique programs including the international Biomedical Engineering Educational Summit meetings (2000 & 2005) and the national Academic Leadership Program for developing young faculty as leaders. The Whitaker Foundation, having invested more than $800 million primarily in biomedical engineering education and research in the past 30 years, closed its doors in June 2006.

Prior to joining Whitaker in 1998, Dr. Linehan was the Rose Eannelli-Bagozzi professor of biomedical engineering and the founding Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering (1989) at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Until 1998, he was also adjunct professor of physiology and clinical professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Dr. Linehan was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his research on pulmonary mechanics and the metabolism of critical bioactive agents and for innovations in bioengineering education and professional development. He is a member of the U. S. Food and Drug Administration Science Board. He is a fellow and past president of the Biomedical Engineering Society, a founding fellow and past president of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a fellow of the International Academy for Medical and Biological Engineering. He received a distinguished achievement award from the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Linehan received his bachelor's degree from Marquette University, his master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin, all in mechanical engineering.