Four BioInspired faculty members have received National Science Foundation (NSF) Presidential Early Career Awards from the NSF’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program in support of their innovative research.
News
Sea Urchins Are Struggling to ‘Get a Grip’ as Climate Change Alters Ecosystems
Syracuse University researchers explore how excess freshwater from climate change-associated events such as increased torrential rainstorms are impacting sea urchin survival.
Students Will Present Their Summer Research Wednesday and Thursday
More than 100 undergraduate students who have been engaged in research and scholarly and creative pursuits over the summer will present their projects and findings at a showcase being hosted virtually and on campus Aug. 9 and 10. Continue Reading
James Henderson Named Director, Heidi Hehnly Named Associate Director of BioInspired Institute
James H. (Jay) Henderson, professor of biomedical and chemical engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been appointed as director of the Syracuse University BioInspired Institute, Duncan Brown, vice president for research, has announced. Continue Reading
BioInspired Awards Two Cross-Institutional Project Grants
Syracuse University’s BioInspired Institute has awarded a new round of intramural grants to two interdisciplinary, cross-institutional research projects.
One project looks at how polar fungi physically adapt to survive in extreme climate environments. Its researchers are working to determine how the fungi copy and transfer DNA code at the genetic, molecular, biophysical, cellular and organismal levels.
The second project examines how shape-memory polymers react to both synthetic and biological stimuli and how various treatments affect the materials’ makeup and characteristics. The research team is studying the processes organisms use to successfully adjust their molecular structure to overcome energetic barriers. Continue Reading
Professor Wanliang Shan Receives NSF CAREER Award for Research on Tunable Adhesion
Wanliang Shan, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (ECS), has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award to research the mechanics behind highly tunable dry adhesion for manipulating delicate and small objects. Continue Reading
Zhao Qin Recognized as International Association of Advanced Materials Fellow
Zhao Qin, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, is an International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) Fellow in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of materials to global excellence. He will deliver an IAAM Fellow Lecture in the Advanced Materials Lecture Series 2023. Continue Reading
Peek Into the Hidden World Inside of Cells
Using state-of-the-art equipment, biomedical scientists in the BioInspired Institute are answering some of today’s biggest questions at the microscopic level. Continue Reading
Doyle Presents New Research on Anti-Obesity Drug
An experimental anti-obesity drug could reliably curb appetite and normalize blood glucose levels without causing nausea and vomiting, which are frequent side effects of current weight-loss and diabetes drugs. Continue Reading
‘Fishing’ for Biomarkers
While a popular hobby for many, fishing is also a pastime full of uncertainty. Each time you have something on the line, you can never be completely sure what type of fish you’ve hooked until you pull it out of the water. In a similar way, scientists “fishing” for biomarkers—molecules whose health care applications include signaling for the presence of cancer—in such biofluids as blood can also encounter unpredictability. Finding a specific protein biomarker in a pool of thousands is like trying to catch a particular fish species in the vast ocean.
Luckily, a team of researchers from the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), SUNY Upstate Medical University, Ichor Therapeutics and Clarkson University have devised a tiny, nano-sized sensor capable of detecting protein biomarkers in a sample at single-molecule precision. Fittingly coined as “hook and bait,” a tiny protein binder fuses to a small hole created in the membrane of a cell—known as a nanopore—which allows ionic solution to flow through it. When the sensor recognizes a targeted molecule, the ionic flow changes. This change in flow serves as the signal from the sensor that the biomarker has been found.