Hicks, Spangler named to AIMBE College of Fellows

Johns Hopkins faculty members Stephanie Hicks and Jamie Spangler have been named fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). They are among 175 engineers and researchers in this year’s class who were inducted at a ceremony on Monday, April 13 in Arlington, Virginia. 

Membership in AIMBE’s College of Fellows is reserved for the top 2% of medical and biological engineers—individuals who have made outstanding contributions to teaching, research, and innovation in their fields.  

 More about the 2026 AIMBE fellows from Johns Hopkins: 

Stephanie Hicks 

Hicks is an associate professor in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Biostatistics. As an applied statistician at the intersection of genomics and biomedical data science, she develops computational methods using statistics and machine learning for the analysis of high-throughput genomic experiments. She has considerable expertise in the analysis of single-cell and spatial omics with a goal to better understand the molecular mechanisms of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.  A Fellow of the American Statistical Association, Hicks also founded R-Ladies Baltimore to support women in programming. 

 Hicks was recognized for “for outstanding contributions to biomedical data science, including pioneering methods and pedagogy in single cell and spatial genomics.” 

Jamie Spangler 

Spangler is an associate professor jointly appointed in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Her research integrates structural biophysics and translational immunology to redesign natural proteins and engineer new molecules that improve upon existing therapeutics. In particular, her group is interested in engineering immune molecules such as cytokines, growth factors, and antibodies for targeted treatment of diseases such as cancer, chronic infection, and autoimmune disorders. In 2025, she received the Protein Science Young Investigator Award, the Curtis W. McGraw Research Award, and the university’s President’s Frontier Award. 

Spangler was recognized “for pioneering contributions to molecular immunoengineering through the development and integration of biophysical insights and molecular design technologies.”