News

BioInspired Professors Use Machine Learning to Guide the Design of Stable Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are tiny particles, made of only a few hundred atoms, that are helping to create the world’s newest “smart” surfaces and systems. Nanoparticles are playing a key role in the development of such cutting-edge consumer products as transparent sunscreens and stain repellent fabrics. They are also being designed for biomedical applications like drug delivery inside the body.

Sounds like a miracle substance, right? The hurdle is that identifying one in the lab is akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Out of a potential pool of hundreds of thousands of nanoparticles, only a few may actually be viable—meaning they are the right size and will work within a specific temperature range (e.g., body temperature). So how can researchers facilitate the process? Machine learning. Continue Reading

Syracuse Biomaterials Innovation Facility Faculty among 29 Small Equipment Grant Awardees

The Office of Research has announced the Small Equipment Grants Program has funded 29 proposals for 2021. Among the awardees were four proposals from the Syracuse Biomaterials Innovation Facility (SBI), the BioInspired Institute’s materials characterization and synthesis core facility. These were:

  • James Henderson, for a microcentrifuge
  • Era Jain, for an automated histology and thin-sectioning workspace
  • Zhen Ma, for a hypoxia tissue culture cabinet
  • Mary Beth Monroe, for a multifunctional electrospinning system

After installation, the equipment will be available to Syracuse University and external users in the SBI facility. Continue Reading

Teng Zhang Develops Model to Shape the Future of Pasta and Sustainability

Like pasta, the pursuit of global environmental sustainability takes many shapes. In a paper titled “Morphing Pasta and Beyond” published as the cover story in the May 2021 issues of Science Advances, researchers found a way to redesign noodles as flat structures that transform into three-dimensional shapes when cooked. Considering humanity’s appetite, it is a breakthrough that could move us toward a green future. Continue Reading

Undergraduate Research in Physics: Experiments and Experience

A physics and mathematics major works side by side with professors and graduate students on complex research

Hong Beom Lee ’23 loves challenges, and with the physics research that he does, there are plenty of challenges to take on. Lee is a sophomore studying physics and mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University. He’s part of a team of 15 graduate and undergraduate students working on research projects with Professor Jennifer Ross. Continue Reading

Professors Ren and Zhang Awarded NIH Grant for Catheter Research Project

For the 75 million people who require a urinary catheter, urinary tract infections are a serious concern. Catheters are prone to colonization by bacterial and fungal pathogens, which causes antibiotic-resistant infections. An infection can also lead to pH changes in the urine and block a catheter due to stone formation with potentially fatal consequences. Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) that are antibiotic resistant cause 13,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.

College of Engineering and Computer Science professors Dacheng Ren, Stevenson endowed professor of biomedical and chemical engineering and associate dean for research and graduate programs; Teng Zhang, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; and Huan Gu, research assistant professor and Upstate Medical University’s Dmitriy Nikolavsky, MD, associate professor of Urology, were awarded an National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant for a project aiming to engineer a new urinary catheter using smart biomaterials to reduce catheter associated complications. Continue Reading

Bio-Art Mixer: Where Art and the Sciences Meet

In bio-art, artists and scientists use living tissues, bacteria and organisms to produce intriguing creations. These works are often intended to inspire conversations and action related to the environment, ecology and the effects of human interaction on nature. At Syracuse University, an interdisciplinary group of faculty have created an event called the Bio-Art Mixer, which brings together professors, graduate students and the general public to share innovative research, foster ideas for new art and research projects, and view new science-inspired art works from leading bio-artists around the world. The event is open to science and art enthusiasts, and anyone interested in finding out more about this emerging art form. Continue Reading

Bioengineering Ph.D. Student Receives National Recognition for Breakthrough Molecular Computational Tool

Nandhini Rajagopal’s accomplishments are massive even though her research focuses on small molecules. As part of biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Shikha Nangia’s research group, the Ph.D. student has focused her work on minute interactions between protein molecules in the biological cells that make up all living things. These interactions between proteins are essential since proteins are the building blocks of all living things. Rajagopal’s work is entirely computational and as part of her research she developed a new algorithm that could determine how two different protein molecules would interact. Continue Reading

Wellness day reflection: Re-Spark your joy for research

Take a few minutes on the upcoming Wellness Day to reconnect with who you are as a scientist, or of course on any day you need a moment of reflection. Get away from screens. You might go for a walk or have your favorite drink while you reflect on one of these questions. Continue Reading