Bioengineering | Penn Today

Developing kidneys from scratch

Bioengineering professor Alex Hughes tackles the burden of chronic kidney disease by creating kidney tissue from scratch, which could reduce the need for both dialysis and transplantation.

Microscopic view of a string of amino acids.

New class of encrypted peptides offer hope in fight against antibiotic resistance

New research by César de la Fuente finds that nearly 90% of peptides discovered exhibit significant antimicrobial properties, particularly through the disruption of bacterial membranes.

Rendering of Liposomes delivering cargo molecules such as mRNA.

Siloxane-enhanced nanoparticles chart a new path in precision mRNA medicine

By adjusting the chemical structure of lipid nanoparticles Penn Engineers have discovered how to target specific organs, a major breakthrough in precision medicine.

Penn’s Gilliam Fellows bridge inclusion and innovation

Two Ph.D. students are among 50 graduate students selected to receive this year’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship, which advances equity and inclusion in science through a mentorship skills development course.

Liquid crystals in motion mimic biological systems

Researchers in the lab of Chinedum Osuji have discovered that under the right conditions, liquid crystals form structures reminiscent of biological systems that can transport material from one place to another, much like complex biological systems.

Microscopic rendering of bacterial in the small intestines.

Uncovering new antibiotics inside the human gut

Researchers from Penn Engineering, led by César de la Fuente, have leveraged AI to discover dozens of potential new antibiotics in the human gut microbiome.

Nature

Gut microbes’ genomes are a trove of potential antibiotics

Marcelo Torres of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues are synthesizing antibiotic microbes from microbiomes in the human gut.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Smart meter debate: Small group of consumers pushes against a meter mandate in Pennsylvania

Kenneth Foster of the School of Engineering and Applied Science says that the most reliable conclusions are always those of expert panels that conduct systematic reviews according to established procedures.

Flavia Vitale holding a vial with a gloved hand.

Building solutions for brain disorders

Penn Engineering’s Flavia Vitale’s work developing devices that help people living with brain disorders has earned her a CAREER award, which will support her lab’s research in materials and devices that interface with different chemical and electrical signals inside the brain.

Technology.org

Shedding light on cellular metabolism to fight disease

Yihui Shen of the School of Engineering and Applied Science talks about her newly established lab where she aims to advance the molecular precision of coherent Raman imaging to allow researchers to understand the minutia of metabolism and open doors to new cancer treatments and therapies.

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