Watch Joan Nichols' presentation, “Bioengineering the Lung: High-Risk Research with Breathtaking Results," at the annual TEDxVienna conference. The theme for the annual event was “Brave New Space,” and Nichols was one of 20 speakers to talk about their ideas, concepts and inventions. For those suffering severe lung diseases, only transplantable lungs, which are always in short supply, can help. So, why not bioengineer them? Nichols, who has grown lungs in her UTMB lab, is a professor of infectious diseases and the associate director of research and operations for the Galveston National Laboratory.