SQI faculty member Jonathan Rivnay has garnered two research grants totaling $1.8 million to explore different approaches for using electroactive scaffolds to affect regeneration of peripheral nerves. In both cases, the idea is to design new materials and biocomposites that will allow for electrical stimulation at the site of nerve damage, as electrical stimulation is known to influence cellular processes linked to nerve repair and regeneration.

SQI director Samuel Stupp was highlighted in a recent Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences article about how fundamental research has laid the groundwork for potential solutions for COVID-19. In Stupp’s case, his experience conducting pioneering research on peptide materials for regenerative medicine enabled him to rapidly pivot and explore the possibility of using peptide-based therapies to treat COVID-19.

“You have to draw from many parts of science to solve problems, and it’s very difficult to predict which ones will be the most useful,” Stupp said. “This pandemic illustrates a very important point: that even though I was not focused on viral infections, I was able to use my knowledge and my experience in something else that is directly applicable to the current COVID-19 challenge.”

Researchers led by SQI faculty member Nathan Gianneschi have synthesized a new form of melanin enriched with selenium that shows extraordinary promise as a shield for human tissue against harmful radiation.

Gianneschi and his team envision that this new biomaterial, called "selenomelanin," could be applied to a person’s skin, like a melanin-based sunscreen. It could also be used as a protective film to shield materials from radiation while in transit, including during space travel.

Mark Karver, director of SQI’s Peptide Synthesis Core (PSC), was highlighted in the latest “Breakthroughs” newsletter produced by the Feinberg School of Medicine Research Office. In the interview, Karver describes the research trajectory that led him to Northwestern, the wide range of collaborations that involve the PSC and a current project investigating the use of peptide-based therapies for COVID-19.

Researchers from Northwestern University and Iowa State University have developed a graphene-based electrochemical biosensor capable of detecting histamines (allergens) and toxins in food, with a low manufacturing cost and a much faster response than standard laboratory tests. SQI faculty member Mark Hersam was a co-corresponding author on the research, which showed that the printable biosensors could detect toxicologically relevant levels of histamine in both a buffer solution and fish broth.  

“These biosensors can be used in many settings such as import and export ports, food processing facilities, and supermarkets, where continuous on-site monitoring of food samples is needed,” Hersam said. “On-site testing would eliminate the need to send food samples for laboratory testing, which requires additional steps for handling and increases time and cost for analysis — consequently increasing the risk of foodborne illnesses and food wastage.”