Bioengineering

Lab Notes for Feb. 20, 2023

Rice joins neutrino megaproject. Engineering launches energy transition initiative. McHugh lands cancer research grant. Keck Foundation funds quantum research. West named Cottrell Scholar.

​​​​​​​Bite this! Mosquito feeding chamber uses fake skin, real blood

Rice bioengineers teamed up with tropical medicine experts from Tulane to invent a high-tech way to study the feeding behavior of mosquitoes. To eliminate the need for live volunteers, the system uses patches of "synthetic skin" made with a 3D bioprinter.

Peptide 3D-printing inks could advance regenerative medicine

How do you build complex structures for housing cells using a material as soft as Jell-O? Rice University researchers have the answer with a new 3D-printing ink.

Rice scientists’ discovery could lead to new Alzheimer’s therapies

A new approach to the study of amyloid-beta, a peptide associated with Alzheimer’s disease, has led Rice University scientists to findings that could have a significant impact on the understanding and potential treatment of the disease.

Naomi Halas named University Professor

Rice University has promoted nanotechnology pioneer Naomi Halas to its highest academic rank, University Professor. Halas, a 33-year member of Rice’s faculty, becomes only the 10th person and second woman to earn the title in Rice’s 111-year history.

Inner ear has a need for speed

Rice bioengineers and applied physicists, together with and colleagues at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Chicago, have unlocked the mechanism of the fastest synapses in the human body. A previously hidden mechanism in the inner ear that helps mammals balance via the fastest-known signal in the brain, and researchers from Rice University, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Chicago have modeled a hidden mechanism in the inner ear that helps mammals balance via the fastest-known signal in the brain.

DARPA grant will fund hunt for drug that can keep people warm

Rice University bioengineer Jerzy Szablowski has won a prestigious DARPA Young Faculty Award to identify nongenetic drugs that can temporarily enhance the human body’s resilience to extreme cold exposure.

Mikos wins Jensen Tissue Engineering Award

Bioengineer Antonios Mikos receives the 2023 Jensen Tissue Engineering Award.

Pathogenic sensor’s surprising capabilities revealed

Rice synthetic biologists have uncovered new capabilities of a genetically encoded sensor that allows salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens to sicken millions of people each year.

HIV ‘drug factory’ implant promises once-a-year therapy

A Rice University lab is developing encapsulated cellular “drug factories” to treat patients with HIV through a once-a-year implant.

IEEE honors Kavraki, Richards-Kortum, Truchard

Two renowned Rice University professors and a longtime backer have won prestigious honors in the 2023 IEEE Awards.

Rice lab’s catalyst could be key for hydrogen economy

A light-activated catalyst efficiently converts ammonia into clean-burning hydrogen using only inexpensive raw materials.

Strategic planning process to be launched in January

President Reginald DesRoches shared the news with the Rice community in an email Nov. 21.

Brain cancer research draws support

Bioengineer Kevin McHugh wins a Distinguished Scientist Award for brain cancer research from The Sontag Foundation.

Rice funds new research collaborations with Houston Methodist

Rice and Houston Methodist have awarded seed grants for research in robotics, imaging, cardiovascular bioengineering, and psychological and behavioral health.