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Novel nanoparticle shows promise for treating aggressive breast cancer

March 17, 2022

Scientists at the University of Washington have recently developed a new nanoparticle-based drug delivery system that simultaneously delivers chemo- and immune- therapeutics directly to the tumor site, limiting harmful off-target side effects. In a paper published last November in Materials Today, they reported that their multifunctional nanoparticle can inhibit tumor growth and spread, also known as metastasis, in mouse models of triple negative breast cancer, an exceptionally aggressive form of breast cancer with limited treatment options. [...]

A non-engineer’s journey into molecular engineering

February 22, 2022

Ayumi Pottenger never planned to study engineering. Here, the third-year molecular engineering (MolE) Ph.D. student reflects on what drew her to the program and where she's headed next. [...]

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Analyzing materials with x-rays to reveal their molecular makeup

February 17, 2022

MAF staff scientist Dr. Samantha Young manages the x-ray diffractometer (XRD) and two x-ray photoelectron spectrometers (XPS) in the MAF. Both are instruments that use x-rays to analyze a material, but provide different information. Learn more about Samantha and her work in our Q&A! [...]

Corie L. Cobb awarded DARPA Director’s Fellowship

January 24, 2022

Corie L. Cobb, professor of mechanical engineering and the Washington Research Foundation Innovation Professor in Clean Energy, has been selected as recipient of the prestigious Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Director's Fellowship Award. [...]

Northwest Nanotechnology Infrastructure announces new seed grants

January 6, 2022

To support the use of nanotechnology tools to develop innovative, new technologies, the Northwest Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NNI) is offering seed grants for work to be conducted in our fabrication or characterization facilities. These grants are designed to help users build and characterize prototypes, obtain preliminary results and conduct proof of concept studies. [...]

Six MolES faculty among world's most influential researchers

November 23, 2021

Six researchers affiliated with the Molecular Engineering & Sciences Institute are among the most influential in the world, according to the annual Highly Cited Researchers list published by the Web of Science, the world's largest publisher-neutral citation index. [...]

UW BIOFAB: A force for reproducible science

November 17, 2021

The UW's Biofabrication Center, a unique facility dedicated to enabling the rapid design, construction and testing of genetically reprogrammed organisms, is partnering with Agilent Technologies in pursuit of automated, reproducible research. [...]

MAF senior scientist recognized for contributions to surface science community

October 18, 2021

MAF staff member Dan Graham was recently selected to receive the 2021 AVS Applied Surface Science Division Peter M. A. Sherwood Mid-Career Professional Award for innovation and leadership in the application of Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to organic and biological materials and for the development of practical multivariate analysis tools. [...]

Tiny structures, big impact

October 12, 2021

Miqin Zhang is working to improve cancer treatment with nanoparticles made from the same material found in crustacean shells. [...]

UW MolE Welcomes 2021 Cohort

October 1, 2021

Join us in welcoming our 8th cohort of future molecular engineers! The 2021 cohort consists of nine students with backgrounds in either engineering or the natural sciences, all of whom are interested in developing innovative molecular-based solutions to pressing grand challenges. Learn more about our newest trainees and their current research interests. [...]

2019 MolE PhD 2019 Cohort in MolES shirts

Molecular Engineering @ UW: PhD Program Overview & Admissions Process

September 23, 2021

The UW Molecular Engineering Ph.D. (MolE) Program is hosting a virtual information session featuring students, faculty and staff on October 12th, 4-5PM PST. Students with bachelor's degrees in either engineering or the natural sciences - who are interested in developing innovative molecular"based solutions to pressing grand challenges in a highly interdisciplinary environment - are encouraged to attend. [...]

NSF to fund revolutionary center for optoelectronic, quantum technologies

September 9, 2021

The National Science Foundation has announced it will fund a new endeavor to bring atomic-level precision to the devices and technologies that underpin much of modern life, and will transform fields like information technology in the decades to come. The five-year, $25 million Science and Technology Center grant will found the Center for Integration of Modern Optoelectronic Materials on Demand "” or IMOD "” a collaboration of scientists and engineers at 11 universities led by the University of Washington. [...]

University of Washington and Microsoft researchers develop "nanopore-tal" enabling cells to talk to computers

August 12, 2021

The research team, which includes MolE graduate student Nicolas Cardozo, introduce a new class of reporter proteins that can be directly read by a commercially available nanopore sensing device. The new system "• dubbed "Nanopore-addressable protein Tags Engineered as Reporters," also known as NanoporeTERs or NTERs for short "• can perform multiplexed detection of protein expression levels from bacterial and human cell cultures far beyond the capacity of existing techniques. [...]

MolES faculty members elected to Washington State Academy of Sciences

July 16, 2021

Chemistry Professors Alshakim Nelson and Munira Khalil are among the 38 new members of the Washington State Academy of Sciences recognized for their "outstanding record of scientific and technical achievement and willingness to work on behalf of the Academy to bring the best available science to bear on issues within the state of Washington." [...]

UW synthetic biologist James Carothers wins ARPA-E award to develop new CO2 bioconversion process

July 13, 2021

The funding will be used to develop scalable, cell-free platforms that enable the capture and conversion of carbon dioxide into industrial chemicals, providing manufacturers with a cheaper, more efficient and sustainable means of chemical production. [...]

Molecular engineering graduates tackle global grand challenges

July 12, 2021

This past year, in the midst of a global pandemic, nine students in the Molecular Engineering Ph.D. Program (MolE) completed their degrees. Learn how they applied molecular engineering principles to enable a healthier and more sustainable world and what they're up to next. [...]

Microfluidics: The tiny, beautiful tech hidden all around you

May 17, 2021

In this piece for The Conversation, bioengineering professor Albert Folch describes how microfluidic devices use the strange behavior of fluids in tiny spaces to impact medicine, science and the modern world. [...]

Alzheimers Disease concept, Brain degenerative diseases Parkinson

Alzheimer's research gets a boost

April 6, 2021

Bioengineering startup AltPep advances technology for the early detection and treatment of Alzheimer's and other amyloid diseases. [...]

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Role of solvent molecules in light-driven electron transfer revealed

March 12, 2021

In a study published in Nature Chemistry, a research team led by MolES faculty member Munira Khalil, professor and chair of chemistry at the UW, has captured the rapid motions of solvent molecules that impact light-driven electron transfer in a molecular complex for the first time. This information could help researchers learn how to control energy flow in molecules, potentially leading to more efficient clean energy sources. [...]

List of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists includes two MolES researchers

February 11, 2021

James Carothers, a professor of chemical engineering, and Jessica Ray, a professor of civil & environmental engineering, were both included in Cell Mentor's list of 1,000 inspiring Black scientists. [...]