News & Media
Newsletter
Stay connected with the latest breakthroughs in biological design with The Biodesign Bulletin. This recurring digest highlights new research, major publications, center updates, and upcoming opportunities.
Current Edition
Seven ENG Faculty Honored for Real-World Impact Research
The ENG faculty honored: Michael Albro (ME, MSE) and Mark Grinstaff, (BME, MSE) for Engineered Cartilage and Long-Term Tissue Repair Ayse Coskun, (ECE, SE), for Energy Efficient Data Centers Ji-Xin Cheng, (ECE) for A New Way to View Tiny Particles John Ngo, (BME) for Targeted mRNA Therapies Selim Ünlü, (ECE) for More Efficient, Higher Quality... More
Curing Heart Attacks, Replacing Diseased Organs—Christopher Chen Is Engineering a Healthier Future
Chen is the founding director of BU’s Biological Design Center, which aims to improve our understanding of how cells and biological systems work, and then find ways to control them for our benefit. That involves designing technologies that can improve human health and the environment: engineered blood vessels that help... More
Developing tools to study and reprogram cells at the molecular level
The Ngo Lab, led by Professor John Ngo (Biological Design Center) aims to achieve a better, multi-scale understanding of the molecular organization of life—and to help other scientists do the same—by developing tools to measure, probe, and even re-program how cells communicate with one another... More
Developing a Life-Saving Option for a Rare Childhood Disorder
Starting around age six, certain children develop diabetes, followed by loss of vision and hearing, along with progressive nervous system dysfunction. These children are suffering from Wolfram syndrome (WS), a rare neurodegenerative disease. Most won’t live beyond age 30.
Spotting Signs of Cancer When There’s Still Time. Hao named a Beckman Young Investigator
What if clinicians had the technology to detect this activity? What if they could regularly scan high-risk populations, tracking the earliest disease signatures in real time and space? That sort of early warning system could save lives. “If we could spot disease sooner, diagnose it with greater precision, we’d open... More
Developing a Life-Saving Option for a Rare Childhood Disorder
With an award from the Hartwell Foundation, Boston University Assistant Professor Samagya Banskota (BME) and collaborators at Washington University at St. Louis are working on a novel method of developing treatments for Wolfram Syndrome and other “rare” genetic diseases that, taken together, affect millions of people.
Engineering RNA to be Programmable. Green lab’s new RNA design method combines novel neural networks
A team of researchers from Boston University’s Biological Design Center and the Department of Biomedical Engineering recently made significant steps forward in the development of the next generation of computational RNA tools. They published a study in Nature Communications that describes a novel, AI-assisted technique for designing different types of RNA molecules with improved... More
Dean’s Catalyst Awards Announced for 2025
ENG program injects seed funding into ambitious, collaborative research projects: Boston University College of Engineering Dean ad interim Elise Morgan has announced the five winners—out of a record 30 applicants—of the 2025 Dean’s Catalyst Awards. The research teams will each receive funds over two years to pursue promising, ambitious projects that... More
Wilson Wong is College’s Newest AIMBE Fellow. Honor for a pioneer in mammalian synthetic biology and immune cell therapy
Wong was nominated, reviewed, and elected by his peers “for pioneering contributions to mammalian synthetic biology, immune cell therapy, and leadership in service and outreach for synthetic biology,” according to his citation. He is perhaps best known for his advances in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatments for cancer.
Yazicigil to Colead $6 Million Project to Advance Wireless Capabilities
The Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub has awarded a $6 million grant to a new project coled by a BU engineer that aims to spur the domestic development and manufacturing of cutting-edge semiconductor chips. Assistant Professor Rabia Yazicigil (ECE) will work with colleagues from academia and industry to pioneer what... More