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Explore the leading research, publications, honors, and awards from Northeastern University

Since 2006, Northeastern University has dramatically expanded its research enterprise, with particular emphasis on three global imperatives: health, security and sustainability. Working intentionally across disciplines, Northeastern faculty members are focused on solving real problems in the world. NGN Research tells the stories of these important accomplishments.

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A pair of gloved hands holds a glass sample that contains thin slices of rat brains. — Rebecca Shansky, assistant professor of psychology, conducts research in Nightingale Hall. Photo by Modoono/Northeastern University

Pregnant? Researchers discover that it may decrease your ‘fear memory’

Science & Technology

March 9, 2026

Northeastern University researchers have discovered that chemical changes in the pregnant brain can soften subjects’ fear memories.

A crane holds a large white box with solar panels on the side. The box hangs above snow or ice-covered ground, and is framed by blue sky. — Florian Gahbauer (GAPS system engineer)

These researchers flew a particle detector above Antarctica, hoping to find evidence of mysterious matter

Science & Technology

March 6, 2026

Tsuguo Aramaki has spent 20 years developing a weather balloon-borne particle detector to record indirect traces of dark matter. It recently launched in Antarctica.

Multiple overlays of a white PlayStation 5 controller on a red background. — 02/17/26 – BOSTON, MA. – Playstation video game controller photo illustration on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

Extremists are using video games as recruitment tools. The UN wants to fight back

World & National News

March 4, 2026

ISIS, Boko Haram and far-right extremist groups are using video games for recruitment and propaganda. The United Nations, alongside Northeastern researchers, is using the unique strengths of gaming to fight back.

Honors & Awards

Grants, fellowships, awards and other honors that recognize and support innovative research and world-class teaching.

Publications

Groundbreaking, inspiring research and scholarly work, including journal articles and books, published across disciplines.

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Conferences & Events

Academic conferences convened by Northeastern faculty, and academic conferences where Northeastern faculty play key roles.

Press

The ICE hiring boom

Matthew Ross is an economist at Northeastern University who studies police training.

Northeastern prof: The state’s AI momentum faces a regulatory threat

Dr. Saiph Savage is an assistant professor at Northeastern University in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences, where she directs the Northeastern Civic A.I. Lab.

Why Sierra the Supercomputer Had to Die

“As you age—just like humans—you are likely to get more disease,” says Devesh Tiwari, who researches high-performance computing at Northeastern University.

N.F.L. Careers Scarred Their Brains. Could Mushrooms Provide Relief?

Last year, researchers at Northeastern University, trying to simulate the velocity of an N.F.L. collision, repeatedly struck the heads of rats and then provided them with psilocybin.

Does String Theory Explain the Wiring of the Brain?

Senior author Albert-László Barabási, a distinguished professor and network scientist at Northeastern University, emphasizes that the paper isn’t claiming any profound, direct relationship between string theory and neuroscience.

There’s no mass shooting epidemic, but fear epidemic is real | Opinion

As someone who has studied mass killings for more than 40 years and manages the Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killing Database, I’ve kept a close eye on the social factors and public policies that have contributed to upward and downward swings in mass killings.

Octopuses can become invisible. And now scientists are discovering their secrets.

How cephalopods achieve this instant camouflage is a mystery that has fascinated humans since at least 350 B.C., when Aristotle made observations on the subject, says Leila Deravi, an associate professor at Northeastern University whose BioMaterials Design Group specializes in biomimicry.

Local Study asks what it will take to get more Boston commuters to take the bus

Northeastern University PhD candidate Nail Bashan believes public transit is the best thing we can have in our cities. Bashan’s research focuses on urban mobility and the urban experience.

The Flu Really Is That Bad

Flu seasons, as a rule, differ drastically from one another, and “we don’t have a great understanding of why one ends up being more severe than another,” Samuel Scarpino, an infectious-disease-modeling researcher at Northeastern University, told me.

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