Researchers make advances toward more effective IBD therapies

Photo of person with hand on stomach, drawing of digestive system superimposed on top. Image by iStock.

Researchers in Professor Phillip Messersmith’s lab have demonstrated that treatment with DPCA, an enzyme inhibitor molecule shown to trigger regeneration in mammals, can protect against and repair colon damage in a mouse model of colitis. This work suggests that short-term use of this small molecule drug could someday provide a restorative therapy for patients with IBD — and a path to remission.

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Rubinsky elected to NAI

head and shoulders photo of Rubinsky, outdoors, blurred background

Congratulations to Professor Boris Rubinsky, elected to the National Academy of Inventors. Rubinsky is known for developing a variety of new technologies in the fields of medicine and biomaterials, including a minimally invasive surgical technique called irreversible electroporation, work in cryopreservation, and the 3D printing of biomaterials.

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Herr Lab receives grant to study marine symbiosis in a warming world

The Herr Lab has been awarded a 3-year ‘Symbiosis’ grant from the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation, geared towards designing and disseminating microfluidic tools to power new understanding of marine symbiotic systems – like coral reefs – adversely impacted by rising sea temperatures and other climate-associated stresses. Herr’s lab welcomes two new postdoctoral scholars, Drs. Fangchen Liu and Cyril Deroy, and is collaborating with experts in coral systems from the Carnegie Institution for Science (Prof. Phillip Cleves) and the University of Miami (Prof. Nikki Traylor-Knowles).

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Herr wins Springer Nature Test of Time Award

photo of Herr accepting award plaque at conference

Professor Amy Herr has won the 2023 Microsystems & Nanoengineering/Springer Nature Test of Time Award, recognizing research that was presented at MicroTAS within the last 10-15 years that is still impacting today’s research in the filed of microfluidics.

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Iain Clark selected as Innovation Investigator by Arc Institute

drawing of Prof Clark

Professor Iain Clark was named an Innovation Investigator by the Arc Institute, a scientific research organization pioneering new models for scientific discovery and translation. As a member of the inaugural Innovation Investigators program, Clark will receive $1 million over five years to pursue “curiosity-driven, ambitious research.”

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Conboy Lab changes the measurement of biological age

cover of Aging journal 9/15/23

Research from Professor Irina Conboy’s lab is on the cover of the journal “Aging” this week, highlighting their exciting new research in the measurement of biological age. Their work shows that commonly-used Elastic Net DNA methylation clocks have low accuracy, and present an alternative using noise-detecting cytosines, measuring the pressure of aging and disease on an organism. BioE PhD student Xiaoyue Mei and undergraduate alumnus Joshua Blanchard are first authors.

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