Wyss InstituteRegenerative Medicine – Wyss Institute https://wyss.harvard.edu Wyss Institute at Harvard Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:50:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Toward autonomous self-organizing biological robots with a nervous system https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/toward-autonomous-self-organizing-biological-robots-with-a-nervous-system/ Mon, 16 Mar 2026 18:30:42 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=44996 In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers demonstrate that functional nervous systems can form within self-organized living cellular robots, conferring complex movement patterns and distinct gene expression profiles By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Biobots, whose growing line of variants started with Xenobots, are fascinating tiny self-powered living robots built exclusively using frog embryonic cells. Originally developed in the laboratories of Wyss Institute Associate Faculty member and Tufts University Professor Michael Levin, Ph.D. and his collaborators at University of Vermont…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/toward-autonomous-self-organizing-biological-robots-with-a-nervous-system/ The team made an important step towards creating self-organizing biological robots with a functional nervous system. As can be seen in this image, neurobots are made of an outer surface consisting of multicilliated cells, mucus-secreting goblet cells, ionocytes, and small secretory cells, and a nervous system that reaches out to surface cells underneath. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2026/03/09141311/Neurobot-cover-image-e1773080011693.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=1fb2c1abf80eec239961949d4dffbf6e"/> Nucleic Acid Delivery Consortium https://wyss.harvard.edu/collaboration/nucleic-acid-delivery-consortium/ Fri, 13 Mar 2026 15:13:09 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=collaboration&p=45025 An academic-industry consortium focused on the challenge of delivering nucleic acid-based therapies to specific target organs, tissues, and cells Nucleic acid therapies are emerging as a revolutionary class of medicines. Using engineered DNA or RNA molecules, they treat diseases at their genetic source, thus offering potential cures for a large variety of disorders, ranging from genetic disorders to cancers and infectious diseases. Different technologies, including mRNA, short interfering RNAs (siRNA), antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs)…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/collaboration/nucleic-acid-delivery-consortium/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2026/03/12130048/Nucleic-Acid-feature.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=3db1b68f77be2840f58ae31a6cf07272"/> Wyss Institute-led collaboration awarded by ARPA-H PRINT program to engineer off-the-shelf, universal, transplant-ready graft for liver failure https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wyss-institute-led-collaboration-awarded-by-arpa-h-print-program-to-engineer-off-the-shelf-universal-transplant-ready-graft-for-liver-failure/ Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:55:47 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=44566 Highly multidisciplinary, multi-institutional team of world-leading experts to build technological foundation for liver transplants that could save thousands of patients By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — The majority of human illnesses are caused by damage to a single organ, like the liver, whose failure accounts for 2M deaths worldwide every year. Orthotopic transplants are the only curative therapy available, but the severe shortage of donor organs, which are reserved for the most severe cases, leaves millions of patients without an accessible solution.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wyss-institute-led-collaboration-awarded-by-arpa-h-print-program-to-engineer-off-the-shelf-universal-transplant-ready-graft-for-liver-failure/ To address liver failure in many of over 500M patients worldwide, the highly collaborative ImPLANT project funded by the ARPA-H Personalized Regenerative Immunocompetent Nanotechnology Tissue (PRINT) program, world-leading researchers from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, MIT, University of Colorado Boulder, and Columbia University join their expertise to create the multidisciplinary technological framework for building the first off-the-shelf engineered graft. Credit: Gerain0812/Envato https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2026/01/13141545/Team-of-surgeons-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=40a3e07721c1778ee52413e6e5c8b98c"/> 20-ish Questions with Michael Levin https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20-ish-questions-with-michael-levin/ Thu, 23 Oct 2025 15:05:20 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=43953 20-ish Questions shows a different side of Wyss Institute faculty, touching on aspects of their personal life, hobbies, interests, as well as their research. This round follows Michael Levin, an Associate Faculty member of the Wyss Institute, as well as the Director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts and Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology, and a Distinguished Professor…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20-ish-questions-with-michael-levin/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2025/10/15140627/THUMBNAIL_20ish-Questions-with-Michael-Levin_No-Text-Option-1-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=caf7e985a4ef3f23d8587f68a5002346"/> Wyss Institute Core Faculty member Christopher S. Chen elected to the National Academy of Medicine https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wyss-institute-core-faculty-member-christopher-s-chen-elected-to-the-national-academy-of-medicine/ Tue, 21 Oct 2025 13:28:06 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=44010 Chen has been recognized “for pioneering contributions and leadership in cell and tissue engineering, particularly in the micro-nano-bio engineering of cell and tissue assembly, structure, mechanics, and function" By Alexandra Jirstrand (BOSTON) — Christopher S. Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Core Faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, and the William F. Warren Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Boston University, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wyss-institute-core-faculty-member-christopher-s-chen-elected-to-the-national-academy-of-medicine/ Christopher Chen. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2016/08/05093200/Christopher_Chen_headshot_1500x1000.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=c9d41927da733dab74c8a834f1cd038b"/> Recapitulating egg and sperm development in the dish https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/recapitulating-egg-and-sperm-development-in-the-dish/ Fri, 15 Aug 2025 17:55:46 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=43314 New stem cell differentiation method is first to induce meiosis, a critical step in egg and sperm cell development, with potential for drug development and future fertility treatments By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — More than one-sixth of adults around the world experience infertility in their lifetime. There is a high unmet need not only for increased access to affordable, high-quality fertility care for those in need but, importantly, also for new biomedical solutions that can address the root causes of infertility. Some of the earliest causes of infertility go back to…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/recapitulating-egg-and-sperm-development-in-the-dish/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2025/07/16122007/Meiotic-features-in-iPSC-derived-cells-induced-to-differentiate-as-eggs-and-sperm_feature.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=025fe719d7e73d34266007ebf246a369"/> GC Therapeutics: Changing the Future of Cell Therapies https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/gc-therapeutics-changing-the-future-of-cell-therapies/ Thu, 01 May 2025 13:00:40 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=technology&p=42538 GC Therapeutics (GCTx) is overcoming barriers in the development and manufacturing of cell therapies to improve patient access across a broad range of disease areas. Cell therapy is a promising, rapidly advancing form of therapy that is transforming the treatment and prevention of diseases with significant therapeutic need. In cell therapies, specific therapeutic cell types are transferred into patients to directly repair or regenerate damaged tissue and/or cells. To create cell therapy products, stem cells are differentiated outside the body into desired…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/gc-therapeutics-changing-the-future-of-cell-therapies/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2020/12/02121623/TFome-Figures-for-Harvard-Press-Release.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=d569fed0c29ced0738dbcb3a619c51b5"/> 20ish Questions with Elliot Chaikof https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20ish-questions-with-elliot-chaikof/ Tue, 17 Dec 2024 14:00:23 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=41628 20-ish Questions shows a different side of Wyss Institute faculty, touching on aspects of their personal life, hobbies, interests, as well as their research. This round follows Elliot Chaikof, an Associate Faculty member at the Wyss Institute as well as the Chair of the Department of Surgery & Surgeon-in-Chief at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20ish-questions-with-elliot-chaikof/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2024/12/05124139/THUMBNAIL_20-ish-Questions-with-Elliot-Chaikof_No-Text.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=451671902585175c9749f5b16a83e791"/> Innovative tissue engineering: ESCAPE, a pioneering new method explained https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/innovative-tissue-engineering-escape-a-pioneering-new-method-explained/ Wed, 11 Dec 2024 16:00:31 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=41664 Molding complex tissues using gallium By Boston University Communications (BOSTON) — When it comes to the human body, form and function work together. The shape and structure of our hands enable us to hold and manipulate things. Tiny air sacs in our lungs called alveoli allow for air exchange and help us breath in and out. And tree-like blood vessels branch throughout our body, delivering oxygen from our head to our toes.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/innovative-tissue-engineering-escape-a-pioneering-new-method-explained/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2024/12/10165502/12_Cast-with-ring_CROP.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=56126329a67c6ebeeec08c16a696b065"/> ESCAPE Bioengineering https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/escape-bioengineering/ Wed, 11 Dec 2024 16:00:06 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=41676 A research team at the Wyss Institute and Boston University has developed ESCAPE, the first method that enables the engineering of tissues across multiple length scales, ranging from the diameter of a cell to the cm scale of a heart valve. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/escape-bioengineering/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2024/12/11082233/THUMBNAIL_Escape-Bioengineering_No-Text.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=ece776924fe543fcdff749d41fe1f797"/>