Roberto Molar Candanosa - News @ Northeastern

In the trenches at Northeastern’s coronavirus testing center by day, hitting the books at night

By the time that Eduardo Sanchez heads to work in the morning, he’s already been up for hours, reading and preparing for the discussions, quizzes, and tests he takes as part of a master’s program in biotechnology at Northeastern. He won’t touch that classwork until after 11 at night, after he ends his shift as one of the scientists who ensures Northeastern’s Life Sciences Testing Center runs like a well-oiled machine to process thousands of coronavirus tests on a daily basis.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa October 22, 2020

A COVID-19 vaccine won’t mean a swift end for wearing masks or physical distancing

It’s a long process to get a vaccine out to 7.5 billion people, and an even longer one to answer important questions about its efficacy. That’s why Brandon Dionne, an assistant clinical professor of pharmacy and health systems sciences, says in the early stages of a vaccine rollout, “we're still going to need to use that in conjunction with masks, social distancing, and hand hygiene—like we've been doing—until we have more information about how [a vaccine] actually affects transmission.”

by Roberto Molar Candanosa October 19, 2020

He's building the next generation of autonomous robots

After going into lockdown, Hanumant Singh, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, is finally back with the robots in his lab. It may not be the same, he says, but he and his team are ready to pick up where they left off and continue building the drones of the future.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa October 12, 2020

Testing medical protective gear is the perfect job for robots–but not without the help of humans.

When the production and manufacturing industry for personal protective equipment encountered a bottled neck because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taskin Padir, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, set up a team to help mobilize the process of testing surgical masks and gowns in local hospitals. Now, he wants to build a robotic system that could help manufacturers perform that process faster and more efficiently during this and future pandemics.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa October 5, 2020

Here’s what it takes to test a COVID-19 vaccine with clinical trials

In last week’s presidential debate, President Donald Trump claimed that a COVID-19 vaccine is only weeks away in the United States—a timeline that is at odds with some of the top scientists in his administration. Mansoor Amiji, University Distinguished Professor in pharmaceutical sciences and chemical engineering at Northeastern, explains why vaccines take so long to develop and distribute.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa October 2, 2020

He’s back in the lab with his salamanders

James Monaghan, an associate professor of biology, wants to find out how to improve healing therapies for people by studying the axolotl, a peculiar salamander with some of the most powerful abilities on the planet to repair and regrow injured body parts. Six months after the pandemic forced his lab to pause, Monaghan and his team are back at it. “That was the longest I'd gone without interacting with an axolotl since my first day of graduate school,” he says.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa October 1, 2020

Self-driving cars could revolutionize transportation for people with disabilities. These researchers are trying to make it happen.

By combining artificial intelligence with research that looks into the way people interact with machines and computers, researchers at Northeastern and the University of Maine are helping make self-driving cars accessible for people who are visually impaired or blind.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa September 30, 2020

A twisting vortex of laser light might solve our internet congestion woes

By manipulating the properties of light waves to produce a swirling vortex of lasers at nano scales, a team of researchers opened the door to an unlimited number of possibilities to decongest the internet. “Imagine the amount of data that the internet has to handle,” says Josep Jornet, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. “We need to find ways to squeeze more data in the same infrastructure.”

by Roberto Molar Candanosa September 21, 2020

He’s launching his research into space

By studying the way the microscopic particles in gels respond to microgravity on the International Space Station, Safa Jamali, an assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, wants to better understand complex fluids—and eventually help make better consumer goods and materials.

by Roberto Molar Candanosa September 16, 2020

What it’s like to run a lab that churns out thousands of coronavirus test results per day

Thousands of coronavirus swabs from Northeastern’s Boston campus end up in the Life Sciences Testing Center. Jared Auclair, an associate teaching professor of biotechnology, is at the helm. “All of my efforts are turned towards maintaining quality while scaling up our effort,” he says. “If we’re not going to produce quality results, there’s no point.”

by Roberto Molar Candanosa August 28, 2020

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