Wyss InstituteBioinspired Therapeutics – Wyss Institute https://wyss.harvard.edu Wyss Institute at Harvard Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:30:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 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"/> Transforming cancer treatments through bioinspired engineering and translation https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/transforming-cancer-treatments-through-bioinspired-engineering-and-translation/ Wed, 04 Feb 2026 14:59:03 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?p=44742 Despite major advances in personalized medicine, targeted drugs, and immunotherapies, many cancers remain difficult – or impossible – to treat. Even when therapies work, they can trigger serious secondary health risks that may themselves become life-threatening. Wyss Institute researchers are tackling these challenges head-on by developing new therapies that more powerfully activate the immune…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/news/transforming-cancer-treatments-through-bioinspired-engineering-and-translation/ Abidemi Junaid holding the microfluidic chip used to monitor blood clotting. https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2016/08/09145422/Abidemi-with-Hemostasis-Chip-Posed-08089-scaled.jpeg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=799ada1f03931c9e36620cd1d4f32f2f"/> Brain Shuttles: A New Path Into the Brain with James Gorman of the Wyss Institute https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/brain-shuttles-a-new-path-into-the-brain-with-james-gorman-of-the-wyss-institute/ Tue, 25 Nov 2025 19:34:19 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=44356 The host of Business Trip, Matias Serebrinsky, interviews Wyss Senior Director of Translational R&D James (Jim) Gorman, M.D., Ph.D. Jim is a Principal Investigator of the Wyss Institute Brain Targeting Program (BTP). He leads a team developing new approaches to transport drugs through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) into the central nervous system. In this episode, they discuss why the BBB blocks…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/brain-shuttles-a-new-path-into-the-brain-with-james-gorman-of-the-wyss-institute/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2017/09/31144740/James-Gorman-4577.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=738bfe2f6879616e9bb3fde52402cb86"/> 20-ish Questions with Ellen Roche https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20-ish-questions-with-ellen-roche/ Fri, 21 Nov 2025 14:00:10 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=44311 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 Ellen Roche, an Associate Faculty member of the Wyss Institute as well as the Latham Family Career Development Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/20-ish-questions-with-ellen-roche/ https://wyss-prod.imgix.net/app/uploads/2025/11/21123505/THUMBNAIL_20-ish-Questions-with-Ellen-Roche_No-Text.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=faces%2Centropy&fit=crop&h=400&q=50&w=300&s=0f406d8c28e53babaa72782416de9faf"/> Organs on Chips: Using Science, Art, and Design to Understand the Human Body – Talking About Blood https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/organs-on-chips-using-science-art-and-design-to-understand-the-human-body-talking-about-blood/ Thu, 20 Nov 2025 18:41:34 +0000 https://wyss.harvard.edu/?post_type=media_post&p=44327 In this episode, Wyss Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., talks with Helen Osborne about: How organ-on-chip and “human body on chips” technologies are built and how they realistically mimic human organ function by combining living cells, blood flow, and mechanical forces like breathing and stretch; The implications of these chips for hematology and clinical care…

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]]> https://wyss.harvard.edu/media-post/organs-on-chips-using-science-art-and-design-to-understand-the-human-body-talking-about-blood/ 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"/>