Advanced Technology Team

The Wyss Institute's Advanced Technology Team consists of scientists and engineers with expertise and training in biomaterial fabrication and device development, as well as significant industrial, design engineering and system integration experience. These technical experts help to guide the material and device development efforts of the Enabling Technology Platforms, mentor staff and students in the technology translation and intellectual property areas, and provide institutional memory. They also foster communication and interactions across the Wyss, while ensuring that Institute members translate their technologies into commercial products and therapies through partnerships with industrial and clinical collaborators.

Michael Aizenberg, Ph.D., Senior Staff Scientist, Synthetic Chemistry

Having worked extensively in both academic research and industrial development, Aizenberg has broad synthetic chemistry experience -- from organic and polymer to organometallic, inorganic, and even nuclear. As a Senior Staff Scientist at the Wyss, he is mostly involved in the Programmable Nanomaterials and Adaptive Architecture platforms. Aizenberg received his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1996. His main research interests are in using synthetic chemistry tools to design active and programmable materials and drug-delivery systems, in tissue engineering, nanoparticle synthesis, microfabrication, and in developing energy-efficient materials and devices.

Nicholas Conway, S.M., Staff Engineer

Conway’s research interests include a broad scope of the Wyss Institutes initiative: as a staff engineer he works on Anticipatory Medical Devices platforms as well as DNA synthesis, sequencing and design tools. Prior to joining the Wyss, he worked at Lincoln Laboratory and as a consultant in the aftermarket automotive industry. Conway is a graduate of UC Berkeley and MIT.

James Niemi, Senior Staff Engineer, Device Integration and Manufacturability

Niemi has almost 20 years of medical device research and development experience. Prior to joining the Wyss, he worked on implantable glucose sensors for Nova Biomedical. Previously, he served as Vice President of Research at Afferent Corporation, a start-up venture working to commercialize the stochastic resonance technology developed by Prof. James Collins at Boston University. His research interests and prior experience include: neuromuscular stimulation and control, medical imaging, implantable smart sensors and materials, and bioreactor and automation design.

Leia Stirling, Ph.D., Staff Engineer, Mechanical

Stirling is currently working on determining anticipatory signals during gait in order to design an adaptive control system for an active soft orthotic. She began designing the orthotic as a postdoctoral researcher at Children's Hospital Boston and continues this research at the Wyss, working with several faculty, including Radhika Nagpal and Rob Wood. She completed her Ph.D. at MIT in 2008, where she developed a computational model of astronaut motion and experimentally analyzed microgravity translational and rotational maneuvers. During her M.S. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she characterized aircraft icing aerodynamics and developed measurement techniques for three-dimensional ice accretions. 

Michael Super, Ph.D., Senior Staff Scientist, Synthetic and Structural Biology

Super’s research leverages protein engineering to design therapeutics and diagnostic devices to treat cancer, infectious & immunological diseases. Prior to joining the Wyss, Super spent 17 years in the Biotechnology industry, employed in companies ranging from start-ups to large Pharma. In industry, Super was the Director of the Protein Biochemistry, Immunobiology and Hybridoma Antibody groups, focusing on the design, development and production of therapeutic antibodies for cancer and autoimmune disease therapy. Super received his M.Sc. in Biomolecular Organization at Birkbeck College and his Ph.D. in Medical Immunology at the Institute of Child Health, University of London, followed by postdoctoral work at Harvard in Hematology/Oncology and Infectious disease.

Richard C. Terry, Senior Staff Engineer, Biomaterials Evolution

Terry's research interests include applying systems-level engineering to biological problems. As a senior staff engineer at the Wyss, he is supporting efforts in DNA synthesis, DNA assembly, and DNA sequencing. Before coming to the Wyss, he designed, developed, and produced a cost-effective, high throughput, open source DNA sequencer, "The Polonator." Previously, he was the Senior Project Manager for the alignment subsystem of (CMS) Compact Muon Solenoid, the particle detector at (CERN) The Center of European Nuclear Research, in Geneva Switzerland. He also has served as a consultant for companies ranging from medical device startups to large manufacturing firms. Terry, who received his B.S. and M.S. from Boston University, has patent applications in multiple disciplines.

Jeffrey Way, Ph.D., Senior Staff Scientist, Synthetic and Structural Biology

Way's current research interests are in therapeutic protein development and bioenergy. As a senior staff scientist at the Wyss, he is also supporting faculty-driven efforts in DNA synthesis and DNA assembly. Before coming to the Wyss, he was Director of Structural Biology and Director of Intellectual Property at EMD Serono, a major protein-focused pharmaceutical company, where he designed protein drugs. Previously, he was a Director of Intellectual Property and Director of Communications there. He has published numerous articles on drug development, synthetic biology, nervous system development, and bacterial genetics, and holds several patent applications and issued patents. He received his Ph.D. and B.A from Harvard University.

Justin Werfel, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, Bioinspired Robotics

Werfel's research interests are in the understanding and design of complex and emergent systems. He is currently working on the development of robotic systems motivated by biological collectives, such as ant colonies and cellular slime molds, with Wyss faculty including Radhika Nagpal and Rob Wood. He completed his Ph.D. at MIT in 2006, developing algorithms to allow swarms of simple robots to autonomously build user-specified structures. His postdoctoral research at Harvard included further exploration of collective construction, work on the evolution of cooperative and altruistic behaviors at the New England Complex Systems Institute, and cancer modeling at Harvard Medical School/Children's Hospital Boston.

Amanda Wozniak, M.Eng., Anticipatory Medical Devices

Wozniak’s research interests convolve analog and mixed-signal system engineering with biological systems modeling. As a staff engineer at the Wyss, her work includes prototyping embedded hardware for faculty-driven research in robotic systems, clinical gait analysis and potential therapeutic medical devices. Prior to joining the Wyss, she worked as an Applications Engineer at Analog Devices, Inc. supporting design efforts in high-speed consumer video products. Wozniak received her S.B. and M.Eng from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she completed her Master’s thesis on whole gene synthesis techniques for synthetic biology.