Wyss InstituteBioinspired Therapeutics – Wyss Institute https://wyss.harvard.edu Wyss Institute at Harvard Mon, 18 May 2026 19:49:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Multidisciplinary Wyss team receives 2026 Lush Prize Science Award https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/multidisciplinary-wyss-team-receives-2026-lush-prize-science-award/ Mon, 18 May 2026 18:30:48 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=45467 Recognition highlights the growing impact of Organ Chip technology in reducing animal testing in biomedical and women’s health research (BOSTON) — The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University is proud to announce that the Biosensing, Microfluidics, and Microsystems team, led by Wyss Senior Engineer Adama Sesay, Ph.D., together with the Female Reproductive Health team, has received the 2026 Lush Science Prize. The prize recognizes their work developing next-generation, sensor-integrated human Organ…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/multidisciplinary-wyss-team-receives-2026-lush-prize-science-award/ Wyss Research Scholar Zoheh Izadifar (left), a former Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Wyss Founding Director Donald Ingber, and now an Assistant Professor at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, received the award on behalf of the Wyss teams during the Lush Prize award ceremony, held and livestreamed on May 12 in London. This photo shows her next to jury member Ellen Fritsche (right), Director of the Swiss Centre for Applied Human Toxicology (SCAHT) affiliated to the University of Basel. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2026/05/18113142/Zohreh-Izadifar-Science-LP26_Ellen-Fritsche-scaled-e1779118388548.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=a7846fa4b4163e138d93bb0cd4969b75"/> Next-Gen Toxicology: Inside the Organ Chip Revolution with Donald Ingber https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/next-gen-toxicology-inside-the-organ-chip-revolution-with-donald-ingber/ Wed, 06 May 2026 17:06:35 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=45389 In this episode of ToxChats, hosts Lauren Walker and Sarah Benjamin sit down with the groundbreaking Donald Ingber—visionary scientist, engineer, and Founding Director of the Wyss Institute. Ingber shares how his unique path through medicine, biology, and design converged to spark breakthroughs such as human Organ Chips—systems that are redefining toxicology, drug development, and disease modeling.

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/next-gen-toxicology-inside-the-organ-chip-revolution-with-donald-ingber/ 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"/> 20-ish Questions with Donald E. Ingber https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20-ish-questions-with-donald-e-ingber/ Fri, 01 May 2026 12:00:26 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=45288 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 Donald E. Ingber, the Founding Director and a Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute. He is also the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital, as well as the…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20-ish-questions-with-donald-e-ingber/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2026/04/16114014/THUMBNAIL_20-ish-Questions-with-Don-Ingber_No-Text-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=9411b022404b9cf8eb8c9560744418dd"/> Alex Li on enabling technology translation https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/humans-of-the-wyss-alex-li-on-enabling-technology-translation/ Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:50:55 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=45317 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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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/humans-of-the-wyss-alex-li-on-enabling-technology-translation/ Alex Li, Senior Business Development Manager. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2026/04/30084947/HoW-Alexander-Li-08329-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=40fd38646dde7c4b8521a7c6deb3e79c"/> Wyss Institute technologies enable breakthrough in astronaut health research aboard NASA’s Artemis II mission https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wyss-institute-technologies-enable-breakthrough-in-astronaut-health-research-aboard-nasas-artemis-ii-mission/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:55:20 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=45228 Wyss Institute-enabled Organ Chip “avatars” will provide insights into astronaut health risks and provide a tool for future discovery of countermeasures necessary for travel to the Moon and beyond By Alexandra Jirstrand (BOSTON) – Launched on April 1, 2026, Artemis II is a historic, approximately 10-day lunar flyby mission that is sending four astronauts farther into space than any humans have traveled since the Apollo era, marking a critical step toward sustained lunar exploration and future missions to Mars. The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/wyss-institute-technologies-enable-breakthrough-in-astronaut-health-research-aboard-nasas-artemis-ii-mission/ Using Organ Chips containing astronaut cells, Wyss Institute and Emulate researchers will examine how radiation and microgravity impact human tissue. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2026/04/08174051/NASA-Bonemarrow-Chips-03480_Chip-on-Microscope-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=1f2bbd476766a3827d203d14fedb5a30"/> Breaking barriers in brain health https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/breaking-barriers-in-brain-health/ Wed, 18 Mar 2026 22:28:15 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=45087 How the Wyss Institute is advancing targeted therapies, early diagnosis, and collaborative models to confront neurodegenerative disease, mental illness, and brain cancer For decades, some of the most urgent challenges in brain health have resisted progress across both academia and the pharmaceutical industry. At the Wyss Institute, we are tackling them head-on. A central focus is overcoming one of the field’s biggest obstacles: delivering drugs effectively to the brain and central nervous system. Today, this process remains inefficient…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/breaking-barriers-in-brain-health/ David Walt (center) pictured at the Wyss Institute with lab members Louise Hansen (left), Clarissa May Babila, and Justin Rolando (right). Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2026/03/18141936/David-Walt-Lab-Posed-Smiling-Labcoat-07610-1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=1cd5234cfc1e84beeb5dd48a2175f159"/> 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"/> Namrata Ramani on sculpting the future of delivering novel cancer therapeutics https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/humans-of-the-wyss-namrata-ramani-on-sculpting-the-future-of-delivering-novel-cancer-therapeutics/ Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:32:49 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=44843 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. What do pottery and materials science have in common? Namrata Ramani used to think they were worlds apart. Then, as she honed her skills on the wheel and at the bench, she realized there are…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/humans-of-the-wyss-namrata-ramani-on-sculpting-the-future-of-delivering-novel-cancer-therapeutics/ Namrata Ramani, Postdoctoral Fellow. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2026/02/27133110/HoW-Namrata-Ramani-08080-scaled.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=851704bc882329dc9f271a908cbdf893"/> AVATARs for Astronaut Health Are Heading to Space! https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/avatars-for-astronaut-health-are-heading-to-space/ Thu, 05 Feb 2026 15:04:20 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=44790 NASA’s AVATAR experiment is flying aboard Artemis II to study how deep space affects human health. Using Organ Chips containing astronaut cells, Emulate and Wyss Institute researchers will examine how radiation and microgravity impact human tissue. This research will help inform medical strategies for future long-duration missions to Mars and beyond. The findings could also contribute to…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/avatars-for-astronaut-health-are-heading-to-space/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2022/03/15123125/Organ-Chip-282A6210.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=8bef5a92861dbb7abfb350f987d9d561"/>