Shelly E. Sakiyama-Elbert, Ph.D., is a professor of biomedical engineering on The Joseph and Florence Farrow Endowment. She received a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering and biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and master of science and doctorate degrees in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.

Professor Sakiyama-Elbert, who joined Washington University in 2000, is a member of the Center for Materials Innovation and the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders. Her research is highly interdisciplinary, combining an understanding of biology, chemistry and biomedical engineering to develop new bioactive materials, which can enhance wound healing and tissue regeneration. Her research is currently funded by the NIH and focuses on developing biomaterials scaffolds for drug delivery and stem cell transplantation to treat peripheral nerve and spinal cord injuries.