Wyss InstituteSelf Assembly – Wyss Institute https://wyss.harvard.edu Wyss Institute at Harvard Mon, 13 Apr 2026 21:52:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Building protection against infectious diseases with nanostructured vaccines https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/building-protection-against-infectious-diseases-with-nanostructured-vaccines/ Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:56:44 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=45012 Wyss Institute’s DoriVac combined vaccine and adjuvant technology uses nanoscale precision enabled by DNA origami to induce broad immunity against infectious viruses By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — The COVID-19 pandemic brought messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to the forefront of global health care. After their clinical trial stages, the first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was administered on 8 December 2020 and mathematical models suggest that mRNA vaccines prevented at least 14.4 million deaths from COVID-19 in the first year alone.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/building-protection-against-infectious-diseases-with-nanostructured-vaccines/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/10/19140258/banner-image-DoriVac.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=02c46a8a5e23e0c41c361cb65f4eb81c"/> Biomaterial vaccines to make implanted orthopedic devices safer https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/biomaterial-vaccines-to-make-implanted-orthopedic-devices-safer/ Mon, 03 Nov 2025 19:55:42 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=42430 Biomaterial vaccines using pathogen-specific antigens could significantly lower patients’ risk of infection from implanted medical devices By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Patients with implanted medical devices like orthopedic joint replacements, pacemakers, and artificial heart valves run a small but significant risk that these devices get infected with bacterial pathogens. This starts them on a burdensome path requiring “redo” (revision) surgeries, prolonged antibiotic treatments, or in severe cases amputation.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/biomaterial-vaccines-to-make-implanted-orthopedic-devices-safer/ A team at Harvard’s Wyss Institute and SEAS has developed a novel vaccine strategy with the potential to solve the challenge of device infection in patients. Applied to a mouse model of orthopedic device infection, the vaccines worked 100-fold more effectively than much shorter-lived conventional control vaccines. Credit: Envato Elements/chormail https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2025/04/08130211/4b9ffa17-ce35-4435-855f-8c1b68be5db7-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=e8efe22d2194387a73b659b03ac0598b"/> Anastasia Ershova on Designing and Building with RNA and DNA https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/humans-of-the-wyss-anastasia-ershova-on-designing-and-building-with-rna-and-dna/ Tue, 29 Jul 2025 13:52:34 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=43257 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. Anastasia Ershova loves fencing because every opponent is a new puzzle to solve, and both fencers are constantly engaged, making adjustments based on each other’s actions. The same could be…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/humans-of-the-wyss-anastasia-ershova-on-designing-and-building-with-rna-and-dna/ Anastasia Ershova, Scientist II. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2025/07/28084250/HoW-Anastasia-Ershova-08737-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=5d4acda20ce8057ba3338c0fa41aa127"/> Attivare licenses Wyss Institute’s immune-modulating biomaterial technology to advance immunotherapies https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/attivare-licenses-wyss-institutes-immune-modulating-biomaterial-technology-to-advance-immunotherapies/ Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:20:13 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=41088 The startup is leveraging the biomaterial-based technology to develop novel therapies able to program anti-cancer immunity and prevent infectious diseases By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Today, the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and Attivare Therapeutics Inc. announced that Attivare has licensed a portfolio of immune-modulating biomaterial technologies from Harvard University that was created at the Wyss Institute, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/attivare-licenses-wyss-institutes-immune-modulating-biomaterial-technology-to-advance-immunotherapies/ The OMNIVAX infection vaccine approach incorporates pathogen-derived antigens into an injectable biomaterial scaffold which presents them together with immune cell attracting and activating factors to dendritic immune cells that then go on to orchestrate multi-faceted immune responses against the pathogen in nearby lymph nodes. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2020/05/20143742/MPS-Scaffold-SEM-001-e1590000157764.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=2a2fe69057d66821736f37dd19a6916a"/> Crisscross Nanoseed Detection: Nanotechnology-Powered Infectious Disease Diagnostics https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/crisscross-nanoseed-detection-nanotechnology-powered-infectious-disease-diagnostics/ Wed, 01 May 2024 09:34:25 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=technology&p=29591 Speed, accuracy, and affordability are of the essence in the detection of established and newly emerging pathogens to provide timely care, mitigate transmission, and help lower the financial burden on healthcare systems. Among them, those causing sexually transmitted diseases (STIs), including HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C, cause a major global burden on health care systems. In the U.S. alone…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/crisscross-nanoseed-detection-nanotechnology-powered-infectious-disease-diagnostics/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2021/08/17153819/Crisscross_Featured-image-002.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=a204fa60a8e576eaa4a3fceaed57a0b6"/> DNA Nanostructures for Drug Delivery https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/dna-nanostructures-for-drug-delivery/ Mon, 29 Apr 2024 05:58:48 +0000 https://wyss.prod.a17.io/?post_type=technology&p=5342 Researchers at the Wyss Institute have developed two methods for building arbitrarily shaped nanostructures using DNA, with a focus on translating the technology towards nanofabrication and drug delivery applications. One proprietary nanofabrication technique, called “DNA-brick self-assembly,” uses short, synthetic strands of DNA that work like interlocking Lego® bricks. It capitalizes on the…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/technology/dna-nanostructures-for-drug-delivery/ Self-assembling nanocages built from strands of DNA (above) could one day deliver drugs, or house tiny bioreactors or photonic devices; a superresolution microscopy method developed at the Wyss Institute, DNA-PAINT (below) visualizes structures using short strands of DNA (yellow) labeled with a fluorescent chemical (green) to bind and release partner strands on the cages’ corners, causing them to blink. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2016/09/16222604/DNA-origami-polyhedra-featured-image.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=80aec0a2648ed5e78a5a2837821e7022"/> DNA origami-based vaccines toward safe and highly-effective precision cancer immunotherapy https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/dna-origami-based-vaccines-toward-safe-and-highly-effective-precision-cancer-immunotherapy/ Fri, 15 Mar 2024 11:00:37 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=39256 Broadly applicable vaccine platform enables enhanced anti-tumor responses through nanometer-precise spacing of adjuvant molecules and a variety of antigens By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Therapeutic cancer vaccines are a form of immunotherapy in the making that could not only destroy cancer cells in patients, but keep a cancer from coming back and spreading. Multiple therapeutic cancer vaccines are being studied in clinical trials, but despite their promise, they are not routinely used yet by clinical oncologists to treat their patients.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/dna-origami-based-vaccines-toward-safe-and-highly-effective-precision-cancer-immunotherapy/ Due to their nanoprecise spacing of adjuvant molecules (shown as green ribbons on one face of their squareblock structures), DoriVac vaccines, after being taken up by antigen-presenting immune cells, can more effectively engage the cells’ activation machinery (shown in purple) in intracellular compartments than free and unorganized adjuvant molecules. Credit: Ju Hee/KIST https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2024/02/22114149/draft-for-cover-image3_white5.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=38330a8852d92c38c7872afc02e592b6"/> What is the future of Engineering with Bioengineering Pioneer Donald E Ingber – Museum of Science https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/what-is-the-future-of-engineering-with-bioengineering-pioneer-donald-e-ingber-museum-of-science/ Mon, 11 Mar 2024 17:32:32 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=39388 Is biological inspiration the key to the future of engineering? Bioethicist Insoo Hyun sits down with Donald E. Ingber, Founding Director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Professor of Bioengineering at Harvard’s School of Engineering & Applied Sciences. Together they explore the profound impact of Nature on engineering beyond the realms of cold, hard mathematics.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/what-is-the-future-of-engineering-with-bioengineering-pioneer-donald-e-ingber-museum-of-science/ Founding Director Donald Ingber. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2016/08/05095242/Donald_Ingber_headshot_1500x1000.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=f86daa58baa3ae0c80720f0ca99dc64a"/> Seed-dependent crisscross DNA-origami slats https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/seed-dependent-crisscross-dna-origami-slats/ Wed, 21 Dec 2022 20:30:26 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=35178 This animation explains how the newly invented crisscross origami method can be used to build functionalized micron-scale DNA megastructures composed of many unique DNA origami “slats,” each with their own complexity and interactive properties. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/seed-dependent-crisscross-dna-origami-slats/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/12/21151738/Crisscross-DNA-Origami_Title-slidege.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=c5cbe96b91576d4e52f8a507f0711191"/> DNA nanostructures grow up to become micron-scale megastructures https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/dna-nanostructures-grow-up-to-become-micron-scale-megastructures/ Wed, 21 Dec 2022 20:28:54 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=34954 New DNA nanofabrication approach enables high-yielding assembly of complex multi-origami megastructures, with potential for many biological and non-biological applications By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — DNA nanostructures assembled from shorter DNA sequences as building blocks have long sparked the imagination of bioengineers because their precisely programable size, shape, and functions could open up a plethora of non-biological and biological possibilities. If they could be built to be sufficiently large and complex, we could harness them to create highly…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/dna-nanostructures-grow-up-to-become-micron-scale-megastructures/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/12/14094834/Crisscross-DNA-Origami_Listing-Image.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=89edf9a0ffdfd7fb9e9c639f57b3c957"/>