Quick Facts
Biography
Kevin Kit Parker is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Reserveand the Tarr Family Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics at Harvard University. His research includes cardiac cell biology and tissue engineering, traumatic brain injury, and biological applications of micro- and nanotechnologies. Additional work in his laboratory has included fashion design, marine biology, and the application of counterinsurgency methods to countering transnational organized crime.
Early life and education
Parker attended Boston University's College of Engineering and graduated in 1989.He earned a Master of Science degree in 1993 and a doctoral degree in applied physics in 1998 from Vanderbilt University.
Military career
Parker is a paratrooper who has served in the United States Army since 1992. After the September 11 attacks, he served two tours of duty in Afghanistan.
In addition to his combat tours, Parker conducted two missions into Afghanistan as part of the Gray Team in 2011.
Civilian career
Initially, at Harvard the focus of his research was heart muscle cells.He turned to traumatic brain injury in 2005 after realizing that an Army friend of his, who had received injuries in an IED blast in Iraq in 2005, was suffering from an undiagnosed medical condition rather than a psychological problem.
Other research of Parker's includes designing camouflage using skin cells of cuttlefish and the use of a cotton candy machine to make dressings for wounds.
Parker served on the Defense Science Research Council for nearly a decade, the Defense Science Board Task Force on Autonomy, and has consulted to other US government agencies as well as the medical device and pharma industry.
In 2011, Parker headed Harvard's committee for reintroducing ROTC at the university.
In July 2016, it was announced that The Disease Biophysics Group at Harvard, led by Kit Parker, created a tissue-engineered soft-robotic ray that swims using wave-like fin motions, and turns according to externally applied light cues.
Awards
- Bronze Star
- Army Commendation Medal with V device
- Combat Infantryman Badge
