Internationally recognized for pioneering work in vascular and lung tissue engineering, Niklason became the Nicholas M. Greene Professor of Anesthesiology and Biomedical Engineering at Yale University. She is also co-founder, chief executive officer, and president of Humacyte, a regenerative medicine company developing bioengineered human tissues.
Her research on lab-grown lungs was named one of Time magazine's top 50 most important inventions of 2010. In 2017, Fortune included her on its "Digital Health Care Leaders" list for her contributions to regenerative medicine.
Niklason was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in 2014 and elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2015. In 2020, she was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for her work in cardiovascular tissue engineering, lung regeneration, and biomedical imaging. She holds more than 40 issued or pending patents in the United States.
