Three College of Arts & Sciences faculty members received Ignition Awards from BU Technology Development for the development of promising new medical technologies. The professors, Chen Yang, Arturo Vegas, and Mark Grinstaff, will receive prizes of up to $75,000 for their projects.

Chen Yang, College of Arts & Sciences associate professor of chemistry, is developing a method to treat chronic pain through microwave radiation rather than potentially addictive drugs. Using a ring to amplify microwaves, Yang has been able to temporarily block nerve signals and prevent pain.

Arturo Vegas, CAS assistant professor of chemistry, is working with Valerie Gouon-Evans of BU MED to repair liver damage through the use of a new type of nanoparticle. This nanoparticle delivers messenger RNA to liver cells, where it then instructs the cells to produce regenerative molecules.

Mark Grinstaff, CAS professor of chemistry, is developing antibodies that will latch onto cancerous squamous cells in the lungs and release chemotherapy drugs. Grinstaff hopes that this antibody treatment will advance to human-subject testing and eventually serve as a new, more targeted, form of cancer treatment.

Read more in BU Today, and join us in congratulating our faculty on this achievement!