Research
Across the WPI Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center (LSBC) faculty and graduate students are working to advance our understanding of living organisms and their molecular underpinnings, and to translate discoveries into new therapies, devices, and products that will help prevent and cure disease, address our environmental challenges, improve the effectiveness of health care, elevate our quality of life, and even extend our lifespan.
The major research focus areas at the LSBC today include:
Regenerative Biosciences and Engineering, Stem Cell Biology, Neuroprosthetics, BioMEMs
WPI faculty in Biology and Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Bioengineering Institute, with affiliated faculty from the University of Massachusetts Medical School are engaged in a variety of projects. Teams are developing bioengineered scaffolds on which soft tissue can be grown, laying the groundwork for growing new tissues, even whole organs, from a patient’s own stem cells; genetically engineering new devices and drugs for stroke victims; developing new methods for reverting adult cells to an undifferentiated state to re-grow digits and limbs; engineering adult bone-marrow-derived stem cells to repair damaged cardiac tissue; working on the next generation of prosthetic limbs that behave more naturally, integrate with the nervous system, and respond to signals from the brain.
Tissue Mechanics, Mechanobiology, Biomaterials
WPI faculty in Biology and Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, the Bioprocess Center, and the Bioengineering Institute, with affiliated WPI faculty from Mathematical Sciences and faculty from the UMass Medical School are working to understand how mechanical forces—stretching, for example—affect, or can be necessary for, proper growth and healing of connective tissue; understanding cell-matrix interactions that regulate wound healing; developing engineered analogs for the repair of soft and hard tissue injuries; developing biopolymers that can absorb heavy metals from polluted waters.
Plant Systems and Biofuels
WPI faculty in Biology and Biotechnology and Chemistry and Biochemistry are studying the mechanisms plant cells use to transport metal ions across their membranes; uncovering techniques plants employ to defend themselves against pathogens; developing techniques for enhancing the production and recovery of valuable chemicals made by plants. Through an emerging collaboration with the Arkansas Bioscience Institute, WPI faculty are advancing the processes for development of cellulosic ethanol, algal derived biodiesel, and using advanced engineering and bioreactor designs to produce therapeutic proteins from plant cultures.
Applied Molecular Genetics
WPI faculty from Biology and Biotechnology are studying the genetic mechanisms a tiny nematode uses to evade its host’s immune system; uncovering chemical signals that switch fungi from a benign to a pathogenic state. Fungal infections are notoriously difficult to treat; new drugs that exploit these chemical signals may work far better than current medicines; a better understanding of nematode genetics may lead to ways to prevent and cure infections from parasitic nematodes, which affect about a quarter of the human population.
Nanoscience and Technology, Molecular Sensors
WPI faculty from Chemistry and Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, and the Bioengineering Institute are working to creating devices with surfaces that have precisely engineered physical and chemical properties for sensing and other applications; studying bacteria at the molecular level to learn how to prevent harmful biofilms from forming on medical devices.
Tiny devices with engineered channels and pores may become implantable labs that can monitor blood chemistry and transmit the results as needed; a better understanding of how bacteria are able to adhere to surfaces and form biofilms—and of how to discourage bacterial adhesion by modifying surface characteristics—could help reduce or eliminate infections from indwelling catheters and other medical devices; this knowledge could also help design preventative measures for conditions ranging from urinary tract infections to ulcers.
Biological Imaging and Sensing; Comparative Neuroimaging
WPI faculty from Biomedical Engineering and the Bioengineering Institute, with affiliated faculty from Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering departments are working to develop noninvasive optical sensors that can monitor vital signs and transmit them wirelessly; in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), developing advanced techniques for detecting stroke and seeing how it responds to therapies, and using functional MRI to look for patterns of mental illness in the brains, and developing new coil designs to better detect early signs of breast cancer; in ultrasound, developing portable 3-D ultrasound for diagnosing injuries in the field.
Core Research Facilities
The LSBC complex houses world-class core support facilities with technology, processes and technical staff in-place to support leading-edge life sciences research. Core facilities include microscopy and imaging, histology and an array of major analytical instrumentation and bioprocessing capabilities.
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: November 10, 2008 13:23:18