UM Researcher Honored by Esteemed Biological Engineering Institute

MISSOULA – Accomplished University of Montana researcher Andrij Holian, who directs UM’s Center for Environmental Health Sciences, may need a bigger trophy case.

With his latest accolade, Dr. Holian was named to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. Election to this organization is one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to a medical and biological engineer. The College of Fellows is composed of the top 2% of such engineers.

“It’s a humbling honor,” said Holian, who is a professor of toxicology in the Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences in UM’s College of Health. “This is important for the additional recognition that it provides to the diverse research enterprise that exists at the University of Montana

Holian was nominated, reviewed and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows. According to AIMBE, he was selected “for fundamental understanding of bioactivity and toxicity of nanomaterials and advancing science in safe nanomaterial development and potential therapeutic treatment.”

The 140 new AIMBE Fellows were inducted March 27 in Arlington, Virginia. They are employed in academia, industry, clinical practice and government. AIMBE Fellows represent 30 countries and include three Nobel Prize laureates.

At that same conference, Holian received two other awards from the Society of Toxicology: one for “Excellence in Mentoring” and another for “Significant Contribution in Advancing the Field of Nanotoxicology.”

Holian's varied research interests often focus on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of lung injury from a diverse array of sources, from nanomaterials and methamphetamine to biomasss smoke. He also has studied the asbestos-contaminated vermiculite mined in Libby.

In 2021, Holian was invited to serve on the influential National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council, which advises high-level federal government leaders such as the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the director of the National Institutes of Health and the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. His expertise was sought regarding research, training and other matters significant to meet national research goals.

“Andrij has long been an important part of the research enterprise at the University of Montana,” said Scott Whittenburg, UM vice president for research and creative scholarship. “It’s researchers like him – who are world leaders in their fields – who helped UM become a top-tier R1 research institution.”

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Contact: Scott Whittenburg, UM vice president for research and creative scholarship, 406-243-6670, vpr@mso.umt.edu; Andrij Holian, director, UM Center for Environmental Health Sciences, andrij.holian@umontana.edu.