Russia’s Ministry of Justice has added Igor Efimov, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, to its registry of “foreign agents.” According to the ministry, Efimov has been spreading “false information” about decisions made by the Russian authorities and interacting with organizations designated as “undesirable.” Also added to the registry were philosopher Mikhail Epstein, Free Russia Foundation project coordinator Anton Mikhalchuk, activists Yevgeny Malyugin and Andrei Agapov, and the Cyprus Daily News media outlet.
Efimov’s laboratory at Northwestern University studies the mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases and develops new diagnostic and therapeutic methods, including implantable, interventional, and wearable bioelectronic devices for treating heart disease.
In 2025, Efimov co-led a Northwestern University study focused on developing the world’s smallest pacemaker. The device is smaller than a grain of rice and can be injected into the body with a syringe. It is activated by light pulses from a soft wearable sensor placed on the patient’s chest and dissolves inside the body once temporary cardiac pacing is no longer needed. The study was published in the journal Nature, and the device was tested on animal models and on human hearts obtained from deceased organ donors.
