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Inside the Wyss Institute at Harvard | Materials Saving the Future

Jessica Leff — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:48:41 +0000

From developing plastics that actually break down to adhesive gels for surgery, the Wyss Institute’s materials scientists are working to save the future. Four Wyss researchers, Principal Scientist in Sustainable Materials Emily Stoler, Ph.D., Senior Scientist Peter Nguyen, Ph.D., Wyss Lumineer Benjamin Freedman, Ph.D., and Postdoctoral Fellow Namrata Ramani, Ph.D., speak with host Ashley…

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Reimagining the treatment of mental health: Maria Carolina Bittencourt Gonçalves

Jessica Leff — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:17:45 +0000

By Jessica Leff Listen to Maria tell her story | Wyss Institute · Maria C. B. Gonçalves – Reimagine the World Maria Carolina Bittencourt Gonçalves, Ph.D., grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, the largest city by population in South America. It’s comparable to New York, but with a tropical climate. “I knew I wanted to be a scientist from the first time I looked into a microscope when I was 11…

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Pulling carbon into seawater using engineered bacteria

Jessica Leff — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:00:14 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Rock weathering, the breakdown and dissolving of rocks and minerals caused by their exposure to water, air, and biological life, is a major regulator of Earth’s atmospheric CO2 levels and climate. Throughout Earth’s history, rock weathering has been faster during warm periods with increased atmospheric CO2 levels. Dissolved minerals ultimately wash into the…

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Researchers clear major obstacle in genetic engineering of proteins

Jessica Leff — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 15:13:59 +0000

By STEPHANIE DUTCHEN / Harvard Medical School Communications (BOSTON) — Scientists have been hard at work for more than 20 years to instruct biological systems, such as E. coli cells, to produce proteins they don’t naturally do. Success could mean faster, cheaper, innovative solutions for medicine, agriculture, materials science, environmental remediation, and other industries.

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Dispersible Gas Carriers: Enhancing Efficiency in Biomanufacturing

Jessica Leff — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:12:47 +0000

The bioeconomy is being held back not by biology, but by the physics of getting gas into water at scale to support bioproduction by microbial and mammalian cells. Oxygen (O₂) and other gases are poorly soluble in water, and dissolving them at scale requires mechanical sparging and mixing systems that cause foaming, shear stress, contamination, and uneven gas distribution throughout the reactor.

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Chemist’s fix for a stubborn biomanufacturing problem? Engineer the liquid, not the machine

Jessica Leff — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 18:57:11 +0000

By Yahya Chaudhry, Harvard Staff Writer (CAMBRIDGE, Mass.) – In the race to build a biomanufacturing economy, one of the most stubborn obstacles is surprisingly mundane: getting enough gas into a tank of liquid. From pharmaceuticals to alternative proteins, many technologies depend on microbes that need to breathe oxygen or consume other gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

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Harkamal (Hark) Jhajj on rewiring immune cells to repair fractured bones

Jessica Leff — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:52:41 +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. Harkamal (Hark) Jhajj is always climbing physical and metaphorical mountains. In his spare time, he loves doing physical activities and exploring nature by hiking and visiting national parks.

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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…

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Destigmatizing mental health and democratizing brain-related research

Jessica Leff — Wed, 27 May 2026 13:50:06 +0000

By Jessica Leff More than one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year, but in 2024, only 52.1% of them received treatment. One reason people are reluctant to seek help is because of the stigma surrounding mental health. Often, that stigma comes from a lack of understanding and fear. Unfortunately, stigma doesn’t only impact those with mental illnesses, but it also affects…

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Bioengineering a world beyond plastics

Jessica Leff — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 15:00:06 +0000

By Seth Kroll (BOSTON) — In fewer than 200 years, plastic has become so deeply embedded in everyday life that it is impossible to envision society without it. Inexpensive, adaptable, and durable, plastics are indispensable from food packaging and textiles to medical and electronic devices. But this durability and ubiquity have made plastic dependency a growing global challenge…

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