Amir Alavi received a National Institutes of Health Trailblazer R21 Award

Amir Alavi received a $557,000, three-year Trailblazer R21 Award from the National Institutes of Health, allowing him to oversee a project to investigate in humans the metamaterial orthopaedic implants that his research previously developed.

Alavi, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering in the Swanson School of Engineering, is perhaps better known for his work with bridges and infrastructure — he also was among 23 University of Pittsburgh scientists included in the 2023 Highly Cited Researchers list from Clarivate.

“Trailblazer is one of the most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty administered” by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, said Radisav Vidic, Nickolas A. DeCecco Professor and chair of Pitt’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.