Wyss Institute at Harvard University

"Cancer cells comprise a significant portion of the tumor microenvironment but are often under-utilized for immunotherapy…Our findings with cGAS lipid nanoparticles highlight how cancer cells can be used to contribute to their own elimination," explains Associate Institute Director Natalie Artzi. Her team developed a novel RNA therapy that overrides an immune-suppressive function in tumor cells to re-engage the immune system in complex tumors. https://lnkd.in/ewY9zZuZ

Happy Thanksgiving! To kick off the season of giving, members of our community volunteered at Cradles to Crayons Massachusetts, a non-profit dedicated to addressing clothing insecurity and providing children with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school, and at play.

The Earth is in crisis, and we need solutions to correct environmental degradation and replace harmful materials and processes with more eco-friendly alternatives. The Wyss' Sustainable Futures Initiative is tackling this Grand Challenge by re-designing the systems we rely on, from farming to materials and manufacturing, to become planet-friendly with high-performance and scalable features. Learn more about these efforts to harness biologically inspired engineering to improve the health of our planet. https://lnkd.in/eY4MyyHt

In this interview with GenomeWeb, Core Faculty member George Church gives a glimpse into his visionary ideas, fulfilling moments, and the highest ideals of the scientific enterprise. https://lnkd.in/eg5ENhdS

Did you know that Ellen Roche used to train for endurance events, like triathlons? Ellen Roche is an Associate Faculty member of the Wyss Institute as well as the Latham Family Career Development Professor at the MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering and the MIT Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES). Learn more about her in this 20-ish Questions video. This series shows a different side of Wyss Institute faculty, touching on aspects of their personal life, hobbies, interests, as well as their research. #Wyss20ishQs #UniquelyWyss Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST)

Sepsis is the third leading cause of neonatal mortality worldwide. In the U.S. alone, there are about 1.7 million suspected cases each year. Current diagnostics rely on blood draws that can take days to deliver results, often leading to unnecessary antibiotic use. So, Wyss researchers developed NeoSense, a faster, gentler way to detect sepsis in newborns using a tiny sample of saliva. This technology is powered by advanced single-molecule detection and AI. https://lnkd.in/eDY53KTj

Wyss researchers are developing injectable immune organs (iNodes) that could transform ovarian cancer treatment by boosting immune responses to enable the formation of lymphoid organs and improve survival rates by at least 50%. https://lnkd.in/e65cR8gn

Gina Wang approaches baking the same way she approaches scientific experiments. She tracks different variables and eventually finds the optimal way to bake a chiffon cake or detect abnormal RNA molecules in extracellular vesicles. The difference is that, in her research, there is no recipe. As part of the NERVE Validation Project team, she’s developing a first-of-its-kind device that could be used to monitor the progression of, and one day diagnose, ALS. Learn more about Gina and her work in this month’s Humans of the Wyss. #HOWyss https://lnkd.in/eUkv2P32

Why has the U.S. government historically awarded grants for fundamental research when the results aren’t guaranteed to have near-term societal impact? While there’s no guarantee of immediate public benefit, crucial early-stage discoveries spawn developments that have real-world impact further down the line. Follow three projects from government grant to technology development to patient impact, from taking a man suffering from end-stage kidney disease off dialysis for the first time in over two years, to keeping opioid-exposed newborns safe, to providing a new solution and optimism for patients with rare diseases like Rett syndrome. https://lnkd.in/e2e-CERQ

We are bringing to market an innovative, bioinspired sensor of volatile compounds that gives building operators confidence in the measurement of gases indoors and provides guidance to achieving healthy indoor air quality (IAQ). Project Air is affordable, accurate, and highly sensitive thanks to the advanced data collection and processing implemented to substantially increase the reliability of even simple sensors. This project is a collaboration between researchers at the Wyss Institute, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and University of North Carolina. Haritosh Patel Anna Shneidman Joanna Aizenberg Jack Alvarenga Holly W. Samuelson