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SQI: Simpson Querry Institute

News and Announcements

Read the most recent SQI news below, and subscribe to our newsletters to stay informed about what is happening at the institute.
Jonathan Rivnay

Polymer electronics feel strain and evolve during operation

February 28, 2024
New research from a team including SQI member Jonathan Rivnay details how strain and dynamics couple with the external electrical stimulus within a complex polymer system. These systems have both electronic and ionic functionality and the insights developed enable future materials with enhanced device durability and performance in wet, operationally relevant conditions.
cancer cells

Outsmarting chemo-resistant ovarian cancer

February 23, 2024
In a new study, SQI member C. Shad Thaxton and colleagues showed that treatment with synthetic nanoparticles reduced ovarian tumor growth by more than 50% in human cells and animal models. The nanoparticles appear to cancer cells as cholesterol-rich particles, but they actually block cholesterol uptake and send the cancer cells down a cell death pathway.
Microscopic image of regenerating bladder tissue

Synthetic ‘bladder patch’ promotes tissue regeneration, restores function

February 12, 2024
A research team led by SQI member Arun Sharma has developed a synthetic, flexible “bladder patch” that outperformed the current standard surgery for severe bladder dysfunction in a long-term, large-animal model — the last step before beginning clinical trials. The “patch” is an elastic-like scaffold that is seeded with a patient’s own stem cells and then sutured to the bladder, where it helps to restore function and promote regeneration in the existing tissue.
Mark Hersam

Hersam elected to National Academy of Engineering

February 7, 2024
SQI member Mark Hersam, whose research has led to more effective and sustainable nanomaterials used in electronics, energy storage, and medicine, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Election to the academy is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.
Scientist using a pipette

SQI announces first round of Synthesizer Research Grants

January 17, 2024
The first projects funded through the SQI Synthesizer Research Grant Program feature innovative strategies to target stroke, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. The program was announced in the summer of 2023 to encourage the development of new approaches in regenerative nanomedicine that could yield transformative improvements in human healthspan.

Decorated nanoparticles prevent allergic reactions

January 16, 2024

Northwestern University researchers led by SQI member Evan Scott have developed the first selective therapy to prevent allergic reactions, which can range in severity from itchy hives and watery eyes to trouble breathing and even death. 

To develop the new therapy, researchers decorated nanoparticles with antibodies capable of shutting down specific immune cells (called mast cells) responsible for allergic responses, as well as an allergen that corresponds to the patient’s specific allergy. In this two-step approach, the allergen engages the precise mast cells responsible for the specific allergy, and then the antibodies shut down only those cells.

Building teams for high-risk, high-reward research projects

January 12, 2024
The latest podcast from the NUCATS Institute's Science in Translation series features SQI member Jonathan Rivnay, who explains how he helped build teams capable of securing large-scale funding from government agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). In the episode, Rivnay also shares how his $33 million DARPA and $45 million ARPA-H projects are progressing. 
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Shana Kelley

Kelley elected to National Academy of Inventors

December 13, 2023
SQI member Shana Kelley has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the highest professional distinction awarded solely to academic inventors. The program recognizes academic inventors who have demonstrated a “spirit of innovation” by creating or facilitating inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and social welfare.
Guillermo Ameer

Ameer elected a Biomaterials Science and Engineering Fellow

December 8, 2023
SQI member Guillermo Ameer has been elected a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (FBSE) by the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering, the highest honor the global biomaterials community can bestow on outstanding scientists. With his election, Ameer joins a group of fewer than 500 biomaterials scientists worldwide who have been named a FBSE.
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Evangelos Kiskinis

Studies identify novel underpinnings of genetic ALS

November 13, 2023
A pair of recent studies from the laboratory of SQI member Evangelos Kiskinis have uncovered novel cellular mechanisms that are involved in two types of genetic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The findings improve the understanding of ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, and provide support for the future development of targeted therapies.
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Cells supported by an oxygenation device

A breath of fresh air keeps drug-producing cells alive longer

November 9, 2023
A research team co-led by SQI member Jonathan Rivnay has developed a novel device that produces oxygen in order to keep cells alive inside the self-contained implant. The longer cells can stay alive and healthy, the longer they can autonomously produce therapeutics for the body.
Synthetic melanin being applied to inflamed skin

‘Super melanin’ heals skin injuries from sunburn, chemical burns

November 2, 2023
In a new study, SQI member Nathan Gianneschi and colleagues show that their synthetic melanin, mimicking the natural melanin in human skin, can be applied topically to injured skin, where it accelerates wound healing. These effects occur both in the skin itself and systemically in the body.
Cara Smith

Meet the Researchers: Cara Smith

November 1, 2023
Cara Smith recently earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering and conducts research in SQI director Samuel Stupp’s laboratory. In this interview, Smith summarizes her recently published research, describes her experience of working in the Stupp group, and shares her career aspirations.

Developing new approaches for spinal cord injury

October 26, 2023

Northwestern researchers led by SQI director Samuel Stupp have developed a molecular “scaffold” capable of enhancing electrical activity and growth in neurons, which may prove useful in treating spinal cord injuries. The scaffolds were composed of a novel nanofiber that mimics the bioactivity of the protein netrin-1 and sustainably delivers signals to neurons over long periods of time.

SQI members Evangelos Kiskinis and Zaida Alvarez were coauthors of the paper, which was published in ACS Nano.

Identifying molecular culprits underlying organ rejection

October 24, 2023

A research team including SQI member Zheng Jenny Zhang has identified how the immune system can regulate organ rejection in mice, which may prove useful for improving transplant tolerance in humans.

The findings suggest that priming T-cells of transplant recipients with repeated injections of antigens from their organ donor may help the recipient’s body avoid organ rejection resulting from infection. The results of the study also identify donor MHC class II as a problematic antigen that may be a cause of rejection after severe infections.

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Nathan Gianneschi

Protein-like polymers illuminate the path to macular degeneration treatment

October 16, 2023
In the latest stride toward combating neovascular age-related macular degeneration, a team led by SQI member Nathan Gianneschi has unveiled a novel approach that could transform patients' lives worldwide. Their research, published in Science Advances, introduces Thrombospondin-1 mimetic protein-like polymers as a potential game-changer in the fight against this leading cause of blindness.
Guillermo Ameer

Ameer wins BMES medal for translational bioengineering

October 12, 2023
SQI member Guillermo Ameer has been named the inaugural winner of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Athanasiou Medal of Excellence in Translational Bioengineering. The medal recognizes the achievements of an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of biomedical engineering with a particular focus on translation.
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Drug-producing implant

Small, implantable device could sense and treat cancer

September 26, 2023
A multi-institutional team of researchers, including SQI members Jonathan Rivnay and Shana Kelley, has received $45 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to fast-track the development of a first-of-its-kind implant to sense and treat cancer. The funding will support a five-and-a-half-year effort to develop and test a device that can sense inflammatory markers associated with cancer and then autonomously deliver immunotherapy.
Guillermo Ameer

Ameer wins Excellence in Biomaterials Science Award

August 25, 2023
SQI member Guillermo Ameer has been elected the winner of the 2023 Excellence in Biomaterials Science Award, an honor given by the Surfaces in Biomaterials Foundation. The award, the highest given by the foundation, recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the biomaterials science field.
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Neurons

‘New’ ALS gene destabilizes neuron’s structure and chokes off its nucleus

August 18, 2023
Northwestern University scientists led by SQI member Evangelos Kiskinis have discovered for the first time how mutated NEK1 genes lead to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). The findings could lead to new therapeutic targets for the disease.
Student making biomaterials out of alginate

SQI hosts high school students interested in medicine

August 14, 2023
Forty-seven high school students with the National Student Leadership Conference’s Medicine Intensive program visited SQI to learn about the Institute’s biomedical research and how therapeutic materials are synthesized, analyzed, and ultimately tested in disease models.