Dr. Federspiel’s research interests include the design and development of novel artificial lung devices, including respiratory support catheters and paracorporeal assist lungs, for near-term clinical use in the treatment of respiratory failure in patients with acute, acute on chronic, or chronic lung insufficiencies as well as blood purification devices for removal of pathogenic antibodies, inflammatory mediators, and other blood borne solutes for near-term clinical use in critical care settings. He is also pursuing development of mathematical and computer simulation models related to respiratory and cardiovascular fluid mechanics and mass transport and of oxygen depletion devices for blood storage systems that will extend the shelf life of red cell units and deliver red cells of higher efficacy and lower toxicity for transfusion therapy.
He joined the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh in 1995 as an associate professor. His past industrial experience includes being a principal staff scientist at ABIOMED Inc., a Boston based artificial heart company, and a research scientist at the Biomechanics Institute in Boston, a nonprofit bioengineering think-tank. In addition to his current academic position, Dr. Federspiel is a founder of ALung Technologies, a Pittsburgh based medical start-up company, for which he serves as the head of the scientific advisory board.
Dr. Federspiel received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester in 1984 and has held academic positions in biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University and Boston University.
Among many honors, he is a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), in which he is also a member of the AIMBE Advocacy Committee (2011). He is also a member of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO). He served as a regular member of the NIH Study Section on Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Sciences (BTSS) from 2009-2013 and has been an ad-hoc member of over 20 other NIH Study Sections. Dr. Federspiel has over 100 peer reviewed journal articles or book chapters published or in press, over 100 proceedings and abstracts, and over 75 invited talks at national and international universities and meetings.
