Wyss InstituteMolecular Robotics – Wyss Institute

Building big with DNA gets a software upgrade

Jessica Leff — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 13:55:09 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — 44 years ago, Nadrian Seeman published his groundbreaking ideas on using DNA as a structural material, expanding DNA’s significance way beyond that as a carrier of genetic information. Since then, the steadily growing field of DNA nanotechnology has seen numerous innovations. One of them was the DNA origami technique, which enables researchers to fold a single…

Source

The Wyss Institute’s 2026-2027 Validation Projects

Jessica Leff — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 14:00:41 +0000

Each year, the Wyss Institute’s Validation Project program identifies technologies that are ready to move beyond discovery and into the validation phase. Through dedicated funding, technical resources, business development support, market research, and engagement with clinicians, investors, industry experts, and key opinion leaders, the program helps research teams de-risk high-impact innovations…

Source

Sarah Sandler on sailing towards a new solution for drug discovery

Jessica Leff — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 15:27:47 +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. In sailing and in science, it’s important to communicate and stay calm in stressful situations, which is something postdoctoral fellow Sarah Sandler knows well. As a competitive sailor…

Source

Building protection against infectious diseases with nanostructured vaccines

Mariel Schoen — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:56:44 +0000

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.

Source

Namita Sarraf on Using DNA as a Building Block

Jessica Leff — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 15:26:34 +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. Namita Sarraf loves to find herself at intersections, whether it’s pursuing a Ph.D. at the nexus of bioengineering and computer science or hosting a “Diwali-sgiving” dinner party to…

Source

The Wyss Institute’s 2025-2026 Validation Projects

Jessica Leff — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 15:00:53 +0000

Throughout recent years, the Wyss’ Validation Project mechanism has proven to be a highly valuable instrument for selecting and kick-starting projects with early potential for positive impact on healthcare and the environment. Reaching deep into areas with major unmet needs across the diverse Grand Challenges laid out by the Institute, the newly selected projects are driven by multi-talented teams…

Source

Anastasia Ershova on Designing and Building with RNA and DNA

Jessica Leff — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 13:52:34 +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. 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…

Source

DNA Nanoswitch Calipers for Single-Molecule Proteomics

Jessica Leff — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 16:48:31 +0000

Proteins are well known as essential orchestrators of life, but what is less well-understood is their post-translational modifications (PTMs). These modifications can include the attachment of chemical groups, carbohydrates, or lipids to the proteins, which affect their folding, stability, and functions. Certain protein PTMs have been linked to diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative disease…

Source

DoriNano – Improved DNA Origami Nanodelivery to Fight Cancer and Other Diseases

Jessica Leff — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 18:20:45 +0000

We’re developing DNA Origami nanodelivery, which is transforming nanoparticle industry. Developed at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, this innovative approach overcomes the challenges of other nanoparticles, offering stability, high drug loading capacity, nano-scale control of cargo spacing, and more – making it a highly customizable solution for…

Source

Deep-dive Molecular Blueprinting of Therapeutic Nanostructures | Anastasia Ershova

Jessica Leff — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 13:29:50 +0000

Anastasia Ershova, a scientist at the Wyss, introduces the innovative field of bionanotechnology. In this talk from LabWeek Field Building, she explores how this cutting-edge science is revolutionizing therapeutics and diagnostics by building molecules that interact with the body in novel ways. Ershova discusses DNA nanotechnology, where DNA is used as a material to create nanoscale structures…

Source