The UW Molecular Engineering Ph.D. program celebrated 12 students who successfully defended their theses during the 2023-2024 academic year on May 31. Faculty, students, and the graduates’ family and friends were in attendance. These MolE Ph.D. graduates conducted interdisciplinary research across eight different departments and organizations.
Extensive blood loss after injuries is life-threatening and must be counteracted as fast as possible. Relatively small volume injections of solutions of a novel star-shaped polymer could compensate for fluid loss without disrupting coagulation.
Molecular Engineering graduate student Abdul Moeez came to UW to advance materials for clean energy. Through unique training opportunities in data science and access to state-of-the-art research facilities, he’s developing autonomous systems to accelerate the fight against climate change.
Each year, the Husky 100 recognizes 100 undergraduate and graduate students from the UW Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma campuses in all areas of study who are making the most of their time at the University of Washington.
Researchers who want to bridge the divide between biology and technology spend a lot of time thinking about translating between the two different “languages” of those realms.
“Our digital technology operates through a series of electronic on-off switches that control the flow of current and voltage,” said Rajiv Giridharagopal, a research scientist at the University of Washington. “But our bodies operate on chemistry. In our brains, neurons propagate signals electrochemically, by moving ions — charged atoms or molecules — not electrons.”
Of the 38 million Americans who have diabetes at least 90% have Type 2, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Type 2 diabetes occurs over time and is characterized by a loss of the cells in the pancreas that make the hormone insulin, which helps the body manage sugar.
Chemical engineers in the Pozzo Research Group are using open-source tools to build modular robots that can run multiple functions of complex experiments. This customizable framework helps alleviate the cost barrier of purchasing multiple, single-purpose commercial machines.
Lih Lin, a Molecular Engineering & Sciences faculty member and electrical & computer engineering professor, was inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) College of Fellows last month.
Study findings promise to shift the field away from trial-and-error approach and toward computational approaches.
Protein engineering scientists have been able to use machine learning to design proteins that are more efficient at performing a biochemical task. This approach shortened a process that typically takes months to years of trial and error.
Currently, researchers design proteins by introducing mutations into a protein’s amino acid sequence in the hope those mutations will give the protein a desired property or function. They then must repeatedly test the resulting mutant proteins in the lab.
New research led by the University of Washington demonstrates a new class of hydrogels that can form not just outside cells, but also inside of them. Hydrogels are made up of protein building blocks linked together. Shown here are images of two cells. The cell on the right contains hydrogels decorated with Green Fluorescent Protein (green blobs), whereas the cell on the left does not because it is missing one of the hydrogel building blocks (green is everywhere in the cell).Mout Read More