Michael Wolfson joined the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) in 2016 as a program director in the Division of Discovery Science and Technology (Bioengineering). During his time at NIBIB, he has managed grant portfolios, including rehabilitation and assistive technologies, surgical tools, biorobotics, neurotechnologies, small business bioengineering grants, and translational medical devices. Central to this work is identification of promising prototypes and supporting their development through maturation toward first-in-human feasibility, setting them on a path to translation.
Wolfson received a Sc.B. degree in electrical engineering from Brown University and a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University. His professional path, however, has been foremost as a systems engineer. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a member of the Society for Neuroscience. From 2000 through 2009, Wolfson was involved in several ventures to develop microsystems technologies for commercial applications. From 2009 through 2016, he was a subject matter expert in DARPA's Microsystems Technology Office and Biological Technologies Office, supporting MEMS and neuro-technology programs. He also contributed to DARPA's RE-NET, HAPTIX, ElectRx, and NESD programs, as well as the GSK Innovation Challenge.
He has substantial experience developing and managing translational medical device R&D portfolios, with particular emphasis on system design principles. He has been instrumental in the NIH RADx Tech, SPARC, HEAL, BRAIN, Blueprint, and NRI programs.