Ahmet Coskun and Aniruddh Sarkar, assistant professors in the Wallace Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory, have both been awarded the Bernie Marcus Early Career Professorship.

Established in 2019 to celebrate Home Depot co-founder Marcus on his 90th birthday, the professorship supports faculty that have been recruited to support Georgia Tech’s Marcus Center for Therapeutic Cell Characterization, providing invaluable discretionary funding to advance their research.

“I’m very grateful to Bernie Marcus for creating this professorship. It will support our research in the development of cutting-edge, single-cell analysis technologies that can rapidly characterize therapeutic cells for personalized and efficient biomanufacturing solutions,” says Coskun a researcher in the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience at Georgia Tech.

“His generous and continuous support will strengthen the long-lasting impact of the Marcus Center,” Coskun added. “I am deeply grateful for being included in these emerging visions for cell-based therapies to greatly improve human health.” 

Sarker, who is also a Petit Institute researcher, runs a curiosity and creativity driven lab where multidisciplinary engineers exploit microscale and nanoscale physical phenomena, devices, and electronics to develop technology for precision biology and medicine, working closely with clinicians and biologists to develop technology to make high-quality healthcare more accessible and affordable across the globe.

“I’m honored and thankful to receive the Bernie Marcus Early Career Professorship,” Sarkar says. “This award will be especially valuable for me and my research group as we develop and grow as a new lab here at Georgia Tech.”