Manu Platt facts for kids

Manu Omar Platt (born 1980) is an American biomedical engineer. He leads the Biomedical Engineering Technology Acceleration (BETA) center at the NIH. He also works to make science more diverse and fair at the NIBIB.

Before this, he was a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. There, he also helped make science more welcoming for everyone.

Early Life and Education

Manu Platt's dad was in the United States Air Force. Manu grew up in Dover, Delaware. In high school, he joined science programs at Delaware State University. He later studied biology at Morehouse College.

At Morehouse, a mentor named Robert M. Nerem helped him. Manu then went to the Georgia Institute of Technology for his advanced studies. He worked with Hanjoong Jo to study how cells work. He also studied at Emory University School of Medicine. After finishing his studies, he joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Research and Career

In 2009, Manu Platt became a professor at Georgia Tech. He studied how diseases affect people, especially in Black communities. He focused on reducing strokes in people with sickle cell disease.

Platt also looked at how new science discoveries affected laws about HIV/AIDS. He found that new discoveries led to more bills in the United States Congress. However, these discoveries did not always lead to new laws being passed.

Helping Young Scientists

Platt started a program called Engaging New Generations at Georgia Tech through Engineering and Science (ENGAGES). This program helps African American high school students learn about biotechnology and engineering.

In 2017, he gave a speech about being from a group not often seen in science. He said that being the first or only person from a certain background can be hard. He also noted that scientists sometimes wait for the "perfect time" to promote diversity.

In 2019, he became a Keystone Symposia Fellow. After the George Floyd protests, many universities talked about racism in science. Platt wrote an article for Nature Reviews Materials. He said that science is only fair if Black professors are truly accepted.

Platt was chosen to be the first director of the NIBIB Biomedical Engineering Technology Acceleration (BETA) center. This center works on new projects that combine different areas of science.

Awards and Honours

• NIH/International AIDS Society Scholarship
• National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award
• Georgia Tech Biomedical Engineering Society Diversity Award
• Georgia Distinguished Cancer Scientist Award
• Emerging Scholar, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine

Personal Life

Manu Platt is one of six sons. His brother, Matthew B. Platt, studies political science. Manu also enjoys making origami.