News

BioInspired Physicists Develop One of the First Models Capturing Dynamics of Confined Cell Movement

The process of normal cell division in the human body is quite simple: start dividing in response to a signal, such as a wound, and stop when enough cells have been produced and the skin is healed. But cancerous cells ignore the stop signs. They grow and spread rapidly, proliferating even in cramped locations. Similar to navigating through a large crowd of people, moving through dense tissue is no easy task. Any normal cell would die during the process, but many cancerous cells have a cage-like protein that helps them protect their nucleus and DNA. That protein, called vimentin, is often expressed in intermediate filaments (one of the three structural elements of the cell) during cell movement. And now, BioInspired researchers are finding out more about this protein, which could eventually help with cancer treatment or wound healing. Continue Reading

Professor Shikha Nangia Selected as Rising Star by American Chemical Society

Biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Shikha Nangia has been selected as a recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Women Chemist Committee  2022 Rising Star Award. The award recognizes nine women scientists who have demonstrated excellence in the scientific enterprise and outstanding promise for contributions to their respective fields. Professor Nangia serves on the Executive Committee of the BioInspired Institute. Continue Reading

BioInspired Institute Partners With Historically Black Colleges and Universities

The BioInspired Institute focuses on leading-edge research in materials and living systems and trains students at the undergraduate and graduate level. When the United States faced a reckoning on racism and structural inequities, BioInspired’s faculty and staff asked, “How can we support diversity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering and mathematics?” In a town hall meeting, consensus was built around a recommendation that the Institute create a research experience for undergraduates that could help diverse young scientists progress through their education and training. Continue Reading

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