Elisabeth Papazoglou, Drexel professor, researcher

Elisabeth Papazoglou, 51, of Yardley, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Drexel University and an assistant professor in the surgery department at Drexel's College of Medicine, died of breast cancer Wednesday, Aug. 17, at her home.

In an appreciation sent to Drexel students, faculty, and staff, Banu Onaral, director of the Drexel School of Biomedical Engineering, wrote of Dr. Papazoglou:

"She led our 'skin engineering' initiative, specifically in the areas of wound healing. . . . Her teams' innovations in skin bioengineering and diagnostics" helped develop three start-up companies.

The website of the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation shows that she and two colleagues won Coulter grants for research to treat "non-healing skin wounds."

Onaral wrote that in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Papazoglou was associate director for research and commercial applications as well as chair of the curriculum committee and deputy chair of a Coulter Research Partnership.

Born in Kavala, Greece, she earned a bachelor's degree at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1982 and a master's at the University of Delaware in 1984, both in chemical engineering.

She earned her doctorate in macromolecular science and polymer engineering at Case Western Reserve University in 1988, where she continued postdoctoral studies in 1989.

Biographical information from Drexel states that from the time she completed those studies until she joined the Drexel faculty in 2003, she worked in corporate research and development.

Dr. Papazoglou was an R&D engineer at Arco Chemical in Newtown Square until 1992, where she earned the Excel Award in 1991 and 1992.

She was a technology manager at FMC Corp. in Princeton from 1992 to 1999, where she earned the exceptional service award in 1999 and the innovation patent award in 1994 and 1997.

And at the former Great Lakes Inc. in West Lafayette, Ind., an industrial chemicals manufacturer, she was technology manager for polymer additives from 1999 to 2003 and won a leadership award in 2002.

Winner of NASA Technical Innovation Awards in July 1988 and August 1989, she was on the board of directors of the Flame Retardants Association from 1996 to 2000.

She began at Drexel as a research associate professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering from 2003 to 2005. She was an assistant professor there from 2005 to 2010 and an associate professor since 2010.

Dr. Papazoglou is survived by her husband, Constantinos Papathomas; daughters Daphne and Pelagia Papathomas; and a sister.There are no services, but a visitation has been set from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, at the Joseph A. Fluehr III Funeral Home, 800 Newtown-Richboro Rd., Richboro.