Wyss InstituteNanodevices – Wyss Institute

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.

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Wyss Institute at Harvard University announces appointment of Natalie Artzi to Associate Institute Director

Jessica Leff — Thu, 29 May 2025 13:55:14 +0000

By Alexandra Jirstrand (BOSTON) – The Wyss Institute at Harvard University, its Board of Directors, and Executive Leadership are pleased to announce that Natalie Artzi, Ph.D., has been appointed to a newly created position as Associate Institute Director of the Wyss Institute. In her new role, Artzi will work closely with the Wyss Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D.

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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…

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Wyss Institute team selected by DARPA-SHIELD program to develop first-of-its-kind biologically engineered broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapeutic

Jessica Leff — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 13:25:50 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University received a contract for up to $12M from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s new SHIELD program. The SHIELD (Synthetic Hemo-technologies to Locate and Disinfect) program aims to develop a prophylactic treatment that can be broadly administered to…

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Starting a fluorescent biosensor revolution

Mariel Schoen — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000

By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Biosensors – devices that use biological molecules to detect the presence of a target substance – have enormous potential for detecting disease biomarkers, molecules-in-action in diverse biological processes, or toxins and other harmful substances in the environment. One of the more common types, fluorescent biosensors, consists of a target-binding biomolecule…

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DNA Nanostructures for Drug Delivery

admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 05:58:48 +0000

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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Evolving how we use DNA through nanotechnological innovations

Jessica Leff — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 13:51:37 +0000

By Jessica Leff On April 25, 1953, a group of researchers published papers in Nature detailing the molecular structure of DNA, the building block of the genetic code of all organisms, for the first time. Since then, our understanding of DNA, genes, and genetics has blossomed, enabling the creation of genetic testing, gene therapies, and synthetic DNA. In 2018, four Wyss faculty members…

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DNA origami-based vaccines toward safe and highly-effective precision cancer immunotherapy

Jessica Leff — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 11:00:37 +0000

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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Making Sugar Healthier – DDN Dialogues

Jessica Leff — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 14:33:15 +0000

With some out-of-the-box engineering, researchers have developed a nature-inspired strategy to turn sugar in packaged foods into gut-healthy fiber. This podcast features Director of Business Development, Sam Inverso, Ph.D., and Senior Engineer Adama Sesay, Ph.D., along with Judith Moca and John Topinka from Kraft-Heinz. This episode was created and is owned by Drug Discovery News…

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Kraft Heinz Partnership

Jessica Leff — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 15:23:01 +0000

The Kraft Heinz Company, the food industry powerhouse whose products are found in 98% of American households, set itself some ambitious Environmental, Social and Governance goals to do the right thing for consumers and for the environment. One of those goals is to reduce the total sugar in its products by more than 60 million pounds by 2025. But reducing sugar isn’t as simple as swapping sucrose…

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