The Wyss Institute seeks to transform engineering, medicine and the environment by creating new materials and devices using Nature’s design principles.
In honor of Hansjörg Wyss’ fourth transformational gift, watch this video to look back at the impact that the Institute has had over the past 13 years and explore the exciting new technologies that the Institute is de-risking and their potential impact.
Researchers at the Wyss have developed cellular "backpacks" for macrophages to release a steady stream of cytokines, keeping them activated against cancer.
Tumors deactivate the body's sentinel macrophages, which then become part of the tumor and help it grow.
@smitragotri
's lab at the Wyss has solved this problem by attaching tiny "backpacks" to macrophages, keeping them activated against cancer.
Move over CRISPR, the retrons are coming. Researchers have harnessed this genetic quirk from bacteria to create a DNA editing tool that allows them to perform and track millions of experiments in a single test tube.
"The fact that we can now deliver an effective, non-toxic dose of [growth factors like VEGF and IGF-1] directly to target sites could finally break the logjam and allow the creation of truly revolutionary regenerative medicines." -Dave Mooney
#regenmed
By 2025, data centers will require 20% of the world's electricity. We need a new solution. Wyss researchers are developing integrated information storage technology for writing large amounts of digital information in DNA.
They can swim, they can think, & now - they can replicate themselves. Xenobots 3.0, created by
@drmichaellevin
,
@DoctorJosh
,
@Kriegmerica
, and
@DougBlackiston
, can assemble offspring from hundreds of free-floating stem cells, a behavior never seen before.
Using a heart-on-a-chip, Wyss and
@hseas
researchers demonstrated a potential new therapy to not only revive heart cells after a heart attack but keep cells functioning during a heart attack.
Wyss researchers developed a cell therapy innovation to slow tumor growth: cellular "backpacks" or disc-shaped nanoparticles that can stick to a macrophage without being engulfed & release cytokines into their "hosts" to keep them activated against cancer.
Chemo and immunotherapies have their own benefits & drawbacks for cancer treatment, but a new cancer vaccine from the Wyss and
@hseas
combines the best of both worlds and effectively treats triple-negative breast cancer in mice.
@liuswangustc
@alexnajibi
Organs-on-Chips can reliably recapitulate human physiology in many cases. So why do manuscript/grant Reviewers still require animal models to validate findings? Wyss Founding Director
@DonIngber
poses this question in Advanced Science:
Putting humans into suspended animation is still science fiction, but we're working on making it science fact: our Biostasis project officially entered Phase 2 last month! Read more here.
@DARPA
What if your doctor prescribed you bacteria instead of ibuprofen? Thanks to biological engineering, scientists at the Wyss and
@harvardmed
created strains of bacteria that can “remember” inflammation, setting the stage for microbial medicine.
We have received $16M from
@DARPA
to use our computational and Organ Chip technologies to find FDA-approved drugs that can be repurposed to treat COVID-19, along with collaborators at
@IcahnMountSinai
and
@UMmedschool
.
Wyss researchers have developed cellular "backpacks" for macrophages. These are disc-shaped nanoparticles that can stick to a macrophage without being engulfed, and release a steady stream of cytokines into their macrophage "hosts" to keep them activated.
All organs need blood vessels to supply their cells with nutrients, but most lab-grown organoids lack a supportive vasculature. The new SWIFT method from the Wyss &
@hseas
3D prints vascular channels into living tissues.
Our sense of hearing is literally a molecular tightrope act. Researchers from the Wyss,
@harvardmed
and
@BostonChildrens
have identified tiny filaments on ear cells that work together like trapeze artists holding hands to detect sound.
As the culmination of years of work developing organs-on-chips, the Wyss describes in 2 new
@natBME
articles the development of a human body-on-chips platform that quantitatively predicts drug pharmacokinetic parameters in humans.
@doningber
The number 4 news item of the year was about a biomaterial-based cancer vaccine that combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy to treat triple-negative breast cancer in mice.
The Wyss has launched a bioinspired technology-driven attack to beat back
#COVID19
. Our researchers are rapidly developing creative solutions to diagnose, treat, and prevent it from spreading further.
Macrophages are cancer-killing machines, but tumors can "switch" them from an anti-tumor to a pro-tumor state.
@Smitragotri
's lab at the Wyss and
@hseas
has created "backpacks" that keep macrophages active against tumors for 5 days in mice's bodies.
A team led by George Church has developed a CRISPR-Cas9-based strategy that is able to generate and profile hundreds of precise mutations in the genome with high throughput.
Scientists led by
@drmichaellevin
created tiny moving "biorobots" from human tracheal cells that can heal "wounds" in neuronal sheets in the lab. One day, these "Anthrobots" could aid in tissue healing & regeneration w/ no need for immune suppression.
Researchers at the Wyss developed a novel passive directional valve technology, which enables the design and fabrication of microfluidic devices capable of handling real-world samples and reagents within multiple applications.
#Microfluidics
#NewTech
A new method developed by members of the Wyss &
@medialab
called untargeted expansion sequencing is able to produce nanoscale-resolution maps of RNAs throughout the mouse brain, enabling highly multiplexed mapping of RNAs from nanoscale to system scale.
“First, create a culture where failure is not a negative but a normal part of research. Second..."
David Mooney — Professor
@Harvard
/ Core Faculty
@wyssinstitute
Light-Seq technology developed at the Wyss Institute allows for the first time the sequencing of the full transcriptomes of cells selected with light in tissues under the microscope.
Hansjörg Wyss, who helped create the Wyss Institute with a philanthropic donation in 2009, now pledges donated $1B over the next decade to help accelerate land and ocean conservation around the world.
Happy
#WorldEnvironmentDay
! Learn how scientists at the Wyss Institute are taking inspiration from Nature itself to create sustainable solutions to problems that threaten our land, sea, air, and cities.
Have you seen the cover of this issue of
@NatureBiotech
? It's about the work of Wyss researchers on wearable biosensors that can sense SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens and toxins. They can be integrated into everyday items, like face masks. Learn more:
Pancreatic cancer has a few tricks up its sleeve – scientists just discovered that it actively destroys and replaces blood vessels with cancerous cells, explaining why it’s so hard to kill.
Congrats
@romeerizwan
on receiving the 2021 grant from the i3 Center at the Wyss. He will develop natural killer cell-based therapies by leveraging biomaterials-based immune cell amplifying and educating approaches and collaborating with Dave Mooney.
Our Founding Director
@doningber
has been awarded the prestigious 2021 Wilbur Cross Medal from
@Yale
in recognition of his groundbreaking work linking tensegrity with cell biology, which led to many important insights in medicine and engineering. Congrats!
Congratulations to the Wyss' Alexandra Sontheimer-Phelps, who won the 2020
@AGA_CMGH
Trainee Article of the Year for her work using Human Organ Chips, to generate the mucus layer of the colon in vitro, which has never been done before.
#InflammatoryBowlDisease
A new paper in
@natBME
from
@SMitragotri
's team at the Wyss and
@hseas
has used the body's own red blood cells to deliver an immune-restoring chemokine to lung metastases, treating them & preventing recurrence.
#cancer
From a tiny risky startup, to an engine for disruptive innovation powered by Biologically Inspired Engineering with people at its heart. 10 years ago this month, the Wyss was founded. Join us throughout January as we look at some of the highlights from the last decade.
#WyssAt10
The Wyss Institute is proud to announce that 11 of our Faculty and Staff members are among the Most Cited Researchers if 2019 - an honor given to the top 0.1% of cited researchers annually.
As we entire the final week of 2021, we're looking back at our Top 5 stories of the year.
#5
is, "Face masks that diagnose COVID-19." Researchers developed wearable biosensors that could rapidly detect SARS-CoV-2 and published in
@NatureBiotech
.
We’re excited to welcome
@NatalieArtzi
as a new member of the Wyss Associate Faculty. Her interdisciplinary experience developing nanomaterials for diagnostic and therapeutic applications will help us continue to develop disruptive solutions for healthcare
Attempts to use macrophages as a cell therapy have largely failed due to cancerous tumors' ability to "trick" them into being pro-cancer. Wyss researchers have created a cell therapy innovation that keeps macrophages activated against cancer.
New in
@naturematerials
, Wyss Postdoc
@Irene_dLz
& Core Faculty member Dave Mooney discuss why cancer nanomedicines have failed to live up their potential & present strategies the field is exploring to help cancer nanomedicines overcome their limitations.
As we age, we’re often afflicted by several diseases at once. A new combination gene therapy developed by the Wyss Institute and
@harvardmed
was able to dramatically improve the health of mice with various age-related conditions.
Geckos have sticky feet, so why can't robots? The new HAMR-E robot from the Wyss Institute and
@hseas
has special foot pads that let it scale walls and walk upside-down just like its lizard inspiration.
Better vaccines are in our blood: a team from
@smitragotri
's lab at the Wyss and
@hseas
has harnessed red blood cells to deliver antigens to immune cells in the spleen, creating an immune memory against cancer in mice without an adjuvant.
Congrats to
@NatalieArtzi
for her induction into the 2024 Class of the
@aimbe
College of Fellows. She is honored for her contributions to understanding interactions of nanostructures w/ the immune system and engineering of disease-responsive biomaterials for diagnosis/therapy.
Researchers from the Wyss Institute,
@hseas
, and
@sony
have created the mini-RCM, a small surgical robot that can help surgeons perform delicate teleoperated procedures on the human body. Learn more:
We're proud that 10 of our faculty are on this year's Highly Cited Researchers list & 3 are Top Translational Researchers of 2019. Congrats, Drs. Aizenberg,
@geochurch
, Collins,
@doningber
,
@JenniferALewis1
,
@smitragotri
, Mooney, Weitz, Whitesides, & Wood!
Researchers at the Wyss developed 2 methods for building arbitrarily shaped nanostructures using DNA, with a focus on translating the technology towards nanofabrication and drug delivery applications.
#DNA
#DrugDelivery
#Nanofabrication
CRISPR – it’s not just for genes anymore. New research from the Wyss Institute and
@MIT
shows that CRISPR can be used to make biomaterials that respond to a variety of signals, greatly expanding the repertoire of DNA-based technologies.
The Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) is the major obstacle preventing drugs from reaching their targets in the brain in the treatment of diseases. A Wyss team created an enhanced human BBB on a microfluidic chip that better recapitulates drug transport ex vivo.
We are honored today to receive our third gift from our founder Hansjörg Wyss, which will help us continue our mission to change the world though disruptive innovations in health and sustainability. Here’s to the next 10 years!
@WyssCampaign
@Harvard
Dendritic cells are crucial actors in the body's immune response. Now, for the first time, scientists can label, track, and control them in the body, and even used them to treat and prevent cancer in mice.
@hseas
Wyss researchers have developed a new kind of gene regulator, a Toehold Switch. These nanodevices can sense environmental stimuli and produce proteins for diagnostic and other synthetic biology applications.
This image shows nanoparticles attached to red blood cells (RBCs), which avoid immune recognition in the body & exhibit enhanced circulation as well as targeting to organs of interest. Credit: Aaron Anselmo / Samir Mitragotri
Today,
@Harvard
announced Hansjörg Wyss has given $350 million to support the continued mission of the Wyss Institute to transform healthcare and the environment by developing innovative technologies and accelerating their translation.
@WyssCampaign
Wyss Institute and
@harvardmed
researchers have developed a method dubbed SABER-FISH that will allow researchers around the world to visualize multiple DNA sequences and RNA molecules at once in the depth of thick tissues.
We're thrilled that
@DonIngber
,
@geochurch
, & David Weitz have been named to the top 2020 translational researchers list & 11 of our faculty members are on this year's highly cited researchers list. Congrats to all!
@smitragotri
@JenniferALewis
A new study published by a team at the Wyss Institute,
@hseas
and
@DanaFarber
describes a cancer vaccine approach that uses an injectable scaffold loaded with a selection of tumor-expressed peptides.
How can we fix the "leaky pipeline" of women leaving STEM? Increase the number & visibility of female leaders in the sciences, & support students at all stages w/ strong mentorship, say Wyss female Faculty.
#WomensHistoryMonth
@snbhatia
@JenniferALewis1
It's
#WorldKidneyDay
. Wyss researchers help those w/ kidney disease by engineering more mature kidney organoids, which will enable better kidney diseases modeling and renal drug toxicity testing. It's also a step towards renal replacement therapies.
Congratulations to Founding Director
@DonIngber
on winning the
@HumaneSociety
’s 2023 Russell and Burch Award for his work advancing alternative methods of research and testing, namely developing Organ Chips.
#OrganChips
#Award
Sometimes our lungs can get leaky, but instead of plugging the leak, all available drugs do is reduce the flow. A study from the Wyss and
@BostonChildrens
has identified a new potential target to treat lung leaks at their source.
At the Wyss, we take novel ideas, get them over the valley of death, and bring them to the point where they can be translated into commercializable products for healthcare & sustainability. Watch how we’re creating an impact through disruptive innovation.
A new landmark piece of legislation, explored in
@ScienceMagazine
, says drugs no longer need to be tested on animals to receive
@US_FDA
approval. Wyss Founding Director
@DonIngber
points out, "Animal models are wrong more often than they are right."
Wyss Associate Faculty member
@drmichaellevin
on how biology’s software—the rules that enable great plasticity in how cell collectives generate reliable anatomies—is key to advancing tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
"One of the strong points of this work is that it uses a completely non-genetic approach to dramatically increase cell survival in transplant contexts, where it’s sorely needed." David Mooney on Single-Cell Encapsulation for Improved Cell Therapies
Wyss Faculty member Dave Mooney, together with three colleagues from
@MIT
,
@harvardmed
, and
@BU_Tweets
, respectively, discusses the future of engineered immune cell therapies in an article published in
@ScienceMagazine
.
Predicting whether vaccines will produce a strong immune response against pathogens is currently a guessing game. Now, with the Wyss' new lymphoid follicle (LF) Chip, scientists can replicate complex immune responses in vitro and develop better vaccines.
Research from the Wyss &
@hseas
has found that whether tissues' local environments are firm like Jell-O or fluid like honey changes how they develop. Further research could reveal how cancer grows based on where it forms.
#MooneyLab
@NatureMaterials
Bioprinted tubular 3D renal architecture that recapitulates functions of the kidney developed by materials scientists at the Wyss Institute.
#SciArt
#3DBioprinting
The Wyss has grown from 14 founding faculty members to 34 faculty members. They are appointed at
@Harvard
or one of our partner institutions, strengthening our collaborative focus. All are leaders in Biologically Inspired Engineering & bring a broad range of expertise.
#WyssAt10
This Wednesday and Thursday is the Regenerative Medicine Symposium, with Wyss Core Faculty member David Mooney as one of the keynote speakers. Sign up to participate virtually.
#regenerativemedicine
#virtualevent
When meth is added to healthy blood-brain barrier cells (middle) in our Organ Chip model, it caused the junctions to become leaky (right), confirming the BBB-Brain Chip system can be used to study human brain drug effects
Congratulations to Wyss Core Faculty member David Mooney on winning the International Award from the European Society of Biomaterials in recognition of his contributions to the field of biomaterials.
Researchers from the Wyss Institute and Harvard Medical School are using the human transcription factor library to generate the cell types necessary to build human cerebral organoids from induced pluripotent stem cell lines.
The i3 Center at the Wyss has awarded
@romeerizwan
from
@DanaFarber
its 2021 grant. Romee will advance therapies using natural killer cells as living drugs by taking biomaterials-based approaches, collaborating with Dave Mooney's group.
The rotary actuated dodecahedron (RAD) sampler developed by researchers at the Wyss,
@hseas
, and
@RadInstitute
was named one of the 100 greatest innovations of 2018 by
@PopSci
. This origami-inspired device allows researchers to study deep-sea organisms.