Wyss InstituteSustainability – Wyss Institute

Alex Li on enabling technology translation

Jessica Leff — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:50:55 +0000

The Humans of the Wyss (HOW) series features members of the Wyss community discussing their work, the influences that shape them as professionals, and their collaborations at the Wyss Institute and beyond. Alex Li has always been fascinated by the idea of using living systems to make a positive impact. He initially pursued his interest in science, but after working at a venture capital firm…

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Bioengineering a world beyond plastics

Jessica Leff — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:00:06 +0000

By Seth Kroll (BOSTON) — In fewer than 200 years, plastic has become so deeply embedded in everyday life that it is impossible to envision society without it. Inexpensive, adaptable, and durable, plastics are indispensable from food packaging and textiles to medical and electronic devices. But this durability and ubiquity have made plastic dependency a growing global challenge…

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Tooling up to diagnose ocean health

Jessica Leff — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 14:55:24 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Oceanic ecosystems are increasingly threatened by global warming, which causes coral bleaching, species migration, and, through the loss of habitats and biodiversity, food web disruptions on major scales. Also, pollutants such as plastics and other marine debris, wastewater, and chemical runoffs, including oil spills, cause major ecosystem disruptions.

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Wyss Institute appoints three new Associate Faculty members: Ahmad Khalil, Jarad Mason, and Ting Wu

Jessica Leff — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:50:20 +0000

By Jessica Leff The Wyss Institute is proud to welcome three new Associate Faculty members: Ahmad (Mo) Khalil, Ph.D., Jarad Mason, Ph.D., and Chao-ting (Ting) Wu, Ph.D. Each has a history of collaborating with the Institute’s researchers. Their diverse expertise and fresh perspectives will further strengthen the Wyss’ innovative and collaborative ecosystem and enable pioneering advances in…

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Sustainable Futures: creating a healthy planet for all

Jessica Leff — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:22:07 +0000

By Seth Kroll The planet’s health directly impacts human health. Plastic pollution, unsustainable manufacturing, and carbon-intensive material production are accelerating a planetary crisis that demands urgent solutions. At the Wyss Institute, our Sustainable Futures Initiative is tackling this Grand Challenge by re-designing the systems we rely on, from farming to materials and manufacturing…

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Haritosh Patel on Sniffing Out a Solution to Indoor Air Pollution

Jessica Leff — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 13:04:00 +0000

The Humans of the Wyss (HOW) series features members of the Wyss community discussing their work, the influences that shape them as professionals, and their collaborations at the Wyss Institute and beyond. You wouldn’t eat a new snack without a nutrition label on the package listing the ingredients, right? Haritosh Patel wants the same to be true for the air you breathe inside buildings.

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PFASense: Fast, In-Field Testing for Forever Chemicals

Jessica Leff — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 13:53:50 +0000

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of “forever chemicals,” are synthetic compounds that have been used since the 1940s to manufacture products like nonstick cookware, firefighting foams, food packaging, and many more. While they have helpful properties, PFAS do not readily degrade in the environment or the human body. As a result, they have accumulated in drinking water, soil…

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Nixe: Bioinspired Sustainable and Water-repellent Textile Coating

Jessica Leff — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 16:48:28 +0000

PFAs, per- and polyfluorinated chemical compounds, were first used with the invention of Teflon in 1938 and by now are found in the blood of 97% of Americans. They pose risks to human reproductive and immune health, and are strongly suspected to cause cancer, developmental defects, and other health problems. As “forever chemicals,” they are passed through entire ecosystems and along food chains.

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Engineering Living Materials with Peter Q. Nguyen

Jessica Leff — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 16:13:25 +0000

In this episode of the CoreSpin Podcast Interview Series, host Misha Bagirov sits down with Wyss Senior Scientist Peter Q. Nguyen, Ph.D., to explore how synthetic biology can turn biofilms into useful materials, embed cell-free systems into wearables (like COVID-sensing masks), and program probiotics as future therapeutics. We also talked about the philosophy behind bioengineering…

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Simon D’Oelsnitz on Building a Sensitive, Specific PFAS Sensor

Jessica Leff — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 13:00:19 +0000

The Humans of the Wyss (HOW) series features members of the Wyss community discussing their work, the influences that shape them as professionals, and their collaborations at the Wyss Institute and beyond. Simon D’Oelsnitz always keeps the potential applications of his science at the top of mind. When he studied pharmacology, he thought about the customers he worked with as a pharmacy…

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