Gnecco receives Tufts Engineering Engagement Award

Juan Gnecco, Assistant Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Principal Investigator of the Laboratory of Reproductive Engineering, has been awarded the inaugural Engineering Engagement Award (EngAge) from the Tufts Engineering Faculty Research Awards Committee to support the 2026 Engineering for Women’s Health Symposium. Hosted by Tufts School of Engineering in March, this one-day public event will bring together up to 200 researchers from Tufts and external academic, medical, and industry biotechnology partners to catalyze interdisciplinary ideas at the intersection of women’s health and engineering. The goal is to provide a setting designed to foster new collaborative research initiatives through interdisciplinary networking, cutting-edge research talks and discussions. 

The EngAge award supports projects with measurable impact within the engineering community. By bringing together people with interdisciplinary research interests and experiences, the goal of the symposium is to facilitate new scientific ideas, projects, and collaborations in women’s health, and to allow experts to communicate and spark inspiration from their breakthroughs and challenges. The Engineering Faculty Research Awards Committee (EFRAC) recognizes innovative scholarship and research in the School of Engineering. The committee is composed of members of the Engineering Dean's Council and is chaired by Matthew Panzer, Professor and Dean of Research for the School of Engineering.  

Gnecco received his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular pathology from Vanderbilt University and has been at Tufts since 2022. From investigating the role of inflammation on reproductive tissue function across the lifespan, to building uterine tissues and studying endometriosis, infertility, and reproductive aging (menopause) using tissue engineering, the Gnecco Lab’s research helps identify the underlying mechanisms and inform the prevention, treatment, and identification of women’s reproductive health issues.