The Wyss Institute at Harvard University
@wyssinstitute.bsky.social
The Wyss Institute seeks to transform engineering, medicine and the environment by creating new materials and devices using Nature’s design principles.
Learn how federal funds fuel life-saving innovations by following three Wyss projects from government grant to technology development to patient impact, powered by The Wyss Effect: core scientific breakthroughs that move science forward to create a positive impact for life on earth.
How federal funds fuel life-saving innovation
Why has the U.S. government historically awarded grants for fundamental research when the results aren’t guaranteed to have near-term societal impact? This topic has gotten much attention in recent mo...
wyss.harvard.edu
December 9, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Learn how federal funds fuel life-saving innovations by following three Wyss projects from government grant to technology development to patient impact, powered by The Wyss Effect: core scientific breakthroughs that move science forward to create a positive impact for life on earth.
We are thrilled to announce the appointment of three new Associate Faculty members: Ahmad (Mo) Khalil, Jarad Mason, and Chao-ting (Ting) Wu.
Wyss Institute appoints three new Associate Faculty members: Ahmad Khalil, Jarad Mason, and Ting Wu
By Jessica Leff The Wyss Institute is proud to welcome three new Associate Faculty members: Ahmad (Mo) Khalil, Ph.D., Jarad Mason, Ph.D., and Chao-ting (Ting) Wu, Ph.D. Each has a history of collabora...
wyss.harvard.edu
December 8, 2025 at 4:15 PM
We are thrilled to announce the appointment of three new Associate Faculty members: Ahmad (Mo) Khalil, Jarad Mason, and Chao-ting (Ting) Wu.
Wyss researchers have discovered a new class of immunostimulatory double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) that produce anti-cancer and pan-antiviral activity by inducing the expression of multiple types of interferons.
Immunostimulatory RNA Therapeutic for COVID-19 and Influenza
Our novel dsRNAs stimulate the immune system to inhibit cancer, bacterial, and viral infections including SARS-CoV-2 and multiple influenza strains.
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December 7, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Wyss researchers have discovered a new class of immunostimulatory double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) that produce anti-cancer and pan-antiviral activity by inducing the expression of multiple types of interferons.
PFAS have been linked to cancers, liver damage, immune dysfunction, and developmental issues. So, Researchers at the Wyss have developed PFASense, a portable biosensor platform for rapid, affordable, on-site PFAS detection.
PFASense: Fast, In-Field Testing for Forever Chemicals
PFASense is a next-generation diagnostic tool designed to detect toxic ‘forever chemicals’ directly at the source. By combining engineered protein sensors with a portable electrochemical device, it…
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December 6, 2025 at 4:06 PM
PFAS have been linked to cancers, liver damage, immune dysfunction, and developmental issues. So, Researchers at the Wyss have developed PFASense, a portable biosensor platform for rapid, affordable, on-site PFAS detection.
In this episode of Grow Everything, the hosts speak to Associate Faculty member Michael Levin about how cells make decisions without brains, store memories without DNA, and navigate anatomical space like we navigate physical space.
When Matter Makes Decisions: Michael Levin on the Intelligence of Form
In this episode of Grow Everything, hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan have a conversation with Professor Michael Levin, Ph.D., Wyss Associate Faculty member and the Director of the Allen Discov...
wyss.harvard.edu
December 5, 2025 at 4:02 PM
In this episode of Grow Everything, the hosts speak to Associate Faculty member Michael Levin about how cells make decisions without brains, store memories without DNA, and navigate anatomical space like we navigate physical space.
Reposted by The Wyss Institute at Harvard University
✂️ #CRISPR research by Dr. George Church @geochurch.bsky.social inactivated all 62 copies of porcine endogenous retrovirus.
🐖 Now, eGenesis at @wyssinstitute.bsky.social & @harvardmed.bsky.social builds upon this work to develop safe pig organs for #xenotransplantation: https://bit.ly/4iAZKV7
🐖 Now, eGenesis at @wyssinstitute.bsky.social & @harvardmed.bsky.social builds upon this work to develop safe pig organs for #xenotransplantation: https://bit.ly/4iAZKV7
December 4, 2025 at 6:17 PM
✂️ #CRISPR research by Dr. George Church @geochurch.bsky.social inactivated all 62 copies of porcine endogenous retrovirus.
🐖 Now, eGenesis at @wyssinstitute.bsky.social & @harvardmed.bsky.social builds upon this work to develop safe pig organs for #xenotransplantation: https://bit.ly/4iAZKV7
🐖 Now, eGenesis at @wyssinstitute.bsky.social & @harvardmed.bsky.social builds upon this work to develop safe pig organs for #xenotransplantation: https://bit.ly/4iAZKV7
Wyss startup Unravel Biosciences is now a clinical-stage therapeutics company! The Colombian Health Regulatory Agency, INVIMA, approved their RVL-001 clinical trial for Rett syndrome and Pitt-Hopkins syndrome. They've started enrolling patients and expect the trial to begin in January 2026.
www.businesswire.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Wyss startup Unravel Biosciences is now a clinical-stage therapeutics company! The Colombian Health Regulatory Agency, INVIMA, approved their RVL-001 clinical trial for Rett syndrome and Pitt-Hopkins syndrome. They've started enrolling patients and expect the trial to begin in January 2026.
Nine Wyss Faculty and staff members made the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list, which honors the top 1% of researchers around the world whose papers have been cited the most over the last decade.
We're so proud of their significant influence in their fields and impact on society. bit.ly/4aqYS3c
We're so proud of their significant influence in their fields and impact on society. bit.ly/4aqYS3c
December 3, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Nine Wyss Faculty and staff members made the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list, which honors the top 1% of researchers around the world whose papers have been cited the most over the last decade.
We're so proud of their significant influence in their fields and impact on society. bit.ly/4aqYS3c
We're so proud of their significant influence in their fields and impact on society. bit.ly/4aqYS3c
Reposted by The Wyss Institute at Harvard University
Jim Collins (MIT & @wyssinstitute.bsky.social) is using generative AI to design new antibiotic molecules. Early candidates have shown ability to kill drug-resistant bacteria, including MRSA and drug-resistant gonorrhea. It’s still early work, but promising.
fastcompany.co.za/tech/2025-12...
fastcompany.co.za/tech/2025-12...
MIT is leveraging AI to create new antibiotics
Discover how MIT scientists are harnessing AI to design new antibiotics from scratch, addressing the urgent challenge of antibiotic resistance and paving the way for innovative medical solutions.
fastcompany.co.za
December 3, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Jim Collins (MIT & @wyssinstitute.bsky.social) is using generative AI to design new antibiotic molecules. Early candidates have shown ability to kill drug-resistant bacteria, including MRSA and drug-resistant gonorrhea. It’s still early work, but promising.
fastcompany.co.za/tech/2025-12...
fastcompany.co.za/tech/2025-12...
The world’s challenges aren’t stopping. We can’t either. We harness biologically inspired engineering to find solutions like this, at the microscopic level, and scale them to address the most pressing, macroscopic problems. Learn how you can support our mission: bit.ly/Wyss-Giving
December 2, 2025 at 7:36 PM
The world’s challenges aren’t stopping. We can’t either. We harness biologically inspired engineering to find solutions like this, at the microscopic level, and scale them to address the most pressing, macroscopic problems. Learn how you can support our mission: bit.ly/Wyss-Giving
Don Ingber’s team at the Wyss Institute is collaborating with researchers at the University of Newcastle, Australia, to develop a world-first stroke therapy. A new publication in Advanced Science demonstrates how their approach works.
Buying time for more stroke patients
www.newcastle.edu.au
December 2, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Don Ingber’s team at the Wyss Institute is collaborating with researchers at the University of Newcastle, Australia, to develop a world-first stroke therapy. A new publication in Advanced Science demonstrates how their approach works.
"I don't think you make disruptive advances by just following linear paths in your own field," explains Don Ingber.
In this episode of Talking About Blood, he discusses organ chips, their applications, and his transdisciplinary career journey.
In this episode of Talking About Blood, he discusses organ chips, their applications, and his transdisciplinary career journey.
Organs on Chips: Using Science, Art, and Design to Understand the Human Body - Talking About Blood
In this episode, Wyss Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., talks with Helen Osborne about: How organ-on-chip and “human body on chips” technologies are built and how they realistically mimic hum...
wyss.harvard.edu
December 1, 2025 at 4:26 PM
"I don't think you make disruptive advances by just following linear paths in your own field," explains Don Ingber.
In this episode of Talking About Blood, he discusses organ chips, their applications, and his transdisciplinary career journey.
In this episode of Talking About Blood, he discusses organ chips, their applications, and his transdisciplinary career journey.
Women experience disease, manifest symptoms, and respond to drugs differently than men. The Women's Health Catalyst at the Wyss Institute was founded to support the research and innovation addressing critical gaps in therapeutics, diagnostics, and medical devices for women’s healthcare.
Women’s Health
Women experience disease, manifest symptoms, and respond to drugs differently than men, yet research into women’s health remains deprioritized, underfunded, and sidelined. The Women's Health Catalyst…
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November 30, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Women experience disease, manifest symptoms, and respond to drugs differently than men. The Women's Health Catalyst at the Wyss Institute was founded to support the research and innovation addressing critical gaps in therapeutics, diagnostics, and medical devices for women’s healthcare.
The Nixe team developed a solution for producing PFAs-free water-repellent coatings by recapitulating the bumpy surface of the lotus leaf. Together with a hydrophobic PFA-free surface chemistry, this creates a breathable interface between fabric and water.
Nixe: Bioinspired Sustainable and Water-repellent Textile Coating
Next-generation PFAS-free water-repellent textile coating solution with utility for multiple industries and potential to dramatically reduce the use of “forever chemicals.”
buff.ly
November 29, 2025 at 4:38 PM
The Nixe team developed a solution for producing PFAs-free water-repellent coatings by recapitulating the bumpy surface of the lotus leaf. Together with a hydrophobic PFA-free surface chemistry, this creates a breathable interface between fabric and water.
"Our findings with cGAS LNPs highlight how cancer cells can be used to contribute to their own elimination," explains 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.
Beating cancer cells at their own game by stepping on their cGAS
By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — Cancer cells develop various strategies to paralyze immune cells to evade their attack in the complex tumor microenvironment (TME). Using one such strategy, they…
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November 28, 2025 at 4:14 PM
"Our findings with cGAS LNPs highlight how cancer cells can be used to contribute to their own elimination," explains 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.
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.
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.
November 27, 2025 at 3:20 PM
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.
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. 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.
Sustainable Futures: creating a healthy planet for all
By Seth Kroll The planet’s health directly impacts human health. Plastic pollution, unsustainable manufacturing, and carbon-intensive material production are accelerating a planetary crisis that…
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November 26, 2025 at 4:12 PM
The Earth is in crisis, and we need solutions. 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.
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.
George Church on Widespread Genomic Sequencing, Xenotransplantation, and Shepherding Change
In this interview, GenomeWeb speaks to Core Faculty member George Church, Ph.D., who is also a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology. A thin...
wyss.harvard.edu
November 25, 2025 at 4:01 PM
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.
Did you know that Ellen Roche used to train for triathlons?
Ellen Roche is an Associate Faculty member of the Wyss and the Latham Family Career Development Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the IMES at MIT.
Learn more about her in this #Wyss20ishQs.
Ellen Roche is an Associate Faculty member of the Wyss and the Latham Family Career Development Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the IMES at MIT.
Learn more about her in this #Wyss20ishQs.
20-ish Questions with Ellen Roche
20-ish Questions shows a different side of Wyss Institute faculty, touching on aspects of their personal life, hobbies, interests, as well as their research. This round follows Ellen Roche, an Associa...
wyss.harvard.edu
November 24, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Did you know that Ellen Roche used to train for triathlons?
Ellen Roche is an Associate Faculty member of the Wyss and the Latham Family Career Development Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the IMES at MIT.
Learn more about her in this #Wyss20ishQs.
Ellen Roche is an Associate Faculty member of the Wyss and the Latham Family Career Development Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the IMES at MIT.
Learn more about her in this #Wyss20ishQs.
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.
NeoSense: Sepsis Detection in Newborns
NeoSense is a new test that uses a tiny sample of saliva instead of blood, powered by advanced single-molecule detection and AI.
buff.ly
November 23, 2025 at 4:21 PM
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.
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%.
iNode: Implantable Lymphoid Organs for Ovarian Cancer Therapy
Over 12,000 women die of ovarian cancer every year, yet ovarian cancer receives less than 1% of research funding compared to other solid tumors. Early symptoms can often mimic less serious…
buff.ly
November 22, 2025 at 4:18 PM
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%.
Gina Wang approaches baking the same way she approaches science. The difference is that, in her research, she doesn't have a recipe. She’s making a novel 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 #HOWyss.
Gina Wang on having the NERVE to detect ALS
The Humans of the Wyss (HOW) series features members of the Wyss community discussing their work, the influences that shape them as professionals, and their collaborations at the Wyss Institute and be...
wyss.harvard.edu
November 21, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Gina Wang approaches baking the same way she approaches science. The difference is that, in her research, she doesn't have a recipe. She’s making a novel 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 #HOWyss.
Why has the U.S. government historically awarded grants for fundamental research?
While there’s no guarantee of immediate public benefit, crucial early-stage discoveries spawn developments that have real-world impact.
Follow three projects from government grant to patient impact.
While there’s no guarantee of immediate public benefit, crucial early-stage discoveries spawn developments that have real-world impact.
Follow three projects from government grant to patient impact.
How federal funds fuel life-saving innovation
Why has the U.S. government historically awarded grants for fundamental research when the results aren’t guaranteed to have near-term societal impact? This topic has gotten much attention in recent mo...
wyss.harvard.edu
November 20, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Why has the U.S. government historically awarded grants for fundamental research?
While there’s no guarantee of immediate public benefit, crucial early-stage discoveries spawn developments that have real-world impact.
Follow three projects from government grant to patient impact.
While there’s no guarantee of immediate public benefit, crucial early-stage discoveries spawn developments that have real-world impact.
Follow three projects from government grant to patient impact.
Reposted by The Wyss Institute at Harvard University
New work using cGAS #LipidNanoparticles shows how cancer cells can be used to contribute to their own elimination.
Check out the work from Drs. Alexander Cryer and Natalie Artzi at the @wyssinstitute.bsky.social and Brigham and Women’s Hospital: https://bit.ly/49terHm
Check out the work from Drs. Alexander Cryer and Natalie Artzi at the @wyssinstitute.bsky.social and Brigham and Women’s Hospital: https://bit.ly/49terHm
November 20, 2025 at 12:42 AM
New work using cGAS #LipidNanoparticles shows how cancer cells can be used to contribute to their own elimination.
Check out the work from Drs. Alexander Cryer and Natalie Artzi at the @wyssinstitute.bsky.social and Brigham and Women’s Hospital: https://bit.ly/49terHm
Check out the work from Drs. Alexander Cryer and Natalie Artzi at the @wyssinstitute.bsky.social and Brigham and Women’s Hospital: https://bit.ly/49terHm
Project Air is an affordable, accurate, and highly sensitive indoor air quality sensor developed in collaboration with @harvardseas.bsky.social, @gsd.harvard.edu, and the University of North Carolina. Learn more:
Project Air: Bioinspired Sensor of Volatile Compounds
We are bringing to market an innovative, bioinspired sensor of volatile compounds that gives building operators confidence in the measurement of gasses indoors and provides guidance to achieving healt...
wyss.harvard.edu
November 19, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Project Air is an affordable, accurate, and highly sensitive indoor air quality sensor developed in collaboration with @harvardseas.bsky.social, @gsd.harvard.edu, and the University of North Carolina. Learn more: