SQI member Shana Kelley has been selected as president of a new biomedical research hub in Chicago funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). CZI will invest $250 million over a decade into the biohub, which will bring together scientists from three Illinois universities to develop tiny sensors that measure biological processes in human tissues. The work is expected to provide new insights into inflammation and how it contributes to disease.

SQI director Samuel Stupp has been awarded the Bauerman Medal from the Materials Department at Imperial College London. The medal and accompanying prize lecture highlight advances in materials science and engineering. Stupp’s lecture, Frontiers in Supramolecular Design of Materials, will be delivered on March 15.

Researchers led by SQI members Evangelos Kiskinis and Samuel Stupp have created the first highly mature neurons from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a feat that opens new opportunities for medical research and potential transplantation therapies for neurodegenerative diseases and traumatic injuries.

Not only were the enriched neurons more mature, they also demonstrated enhanced signaling capabilities and greater branching ability, which is required for neurons to make synaptic contact with one another. And, unlike typical stem cell-derived neurons which tend to clump together, these neurons did not aggregate, making them less challenging to maintain.

SQI member Guillermo Ameer was highlighted as a “Researcher to Know” by the Illinois Science & Technology Coalition (ISTC), whose annual list recognizes faculty across the state who have made a significant impact in their field. Ameer has pioneered the development of citrate-based biomaterials, now used in FDA-cleared tissue fixation devices, and was one of three researchers listed in the ISTC’s medical technology category.