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“Many of the organs in our body are built of tubes. … Critical components of these tubular systems are contractile valves and sphincters. … However, tiny valves composed of a just few cells can somehow also perform these functions. In the reproductive system of the nematode C. elegans there is a donut-shaped valve that opens and closes hundreds of times to allow eggs to pass from where they are fertilized to the uterus. The team … will characterize the inner structure of the valve cell with light and electron microscopy and use genetic perturbations to discover the molecular mechanisms that…
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Sayre receives ACS grant
“Photocatalyzed C−N cross coupling creates pharmaceutical and agricultural chemicals using the energy of light. This project aims to improve the efficiency of photocatalyzed C−N cross coupling by enhancing light absorption and exploiting reaction mechanisms.”
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Klein receives Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant to expand criminal court data
“Criminal municipal courts in the US are standalone courts that operate under the purview of municipalities and cities, as opposed to state judiciaries. They are largely thought to be the ‘lowest’ tier of the criminal legal system. … The general public has little sense of the volume of cases being tried in the system, the amount of money collected by municipalities through fines and fees, and even the number of courts in a given state. In this grant, we take a system-wide approach in collecting, digitizing, and visualizing longitudinal data on every criminal municipal court in every state where they…
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Di Pierro receives NSF grant for computational genetics
“Genomes fold into distinct architectures that reflect both the cell’s phase and type, with the spatial organization of genes playing a crucial role in facilitating physical interactions among genetic regulatory elements. These interactions are essential for gene regulation within organisms and tissues. This project aims to develop innovative theoretical and computational tools to model the mechanics of chromatin at the gene level, enabling the study of how various genetic factors influence the three-dimensional structure of genes.”
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Egido receives NSF funding to study electric vehicle infrastructure
“The project integrates theory and methods from computational social science, urban resilience, behavioral science, and complex systems to address a pressing societal need — the equitable, resilient, and sustainable deployment of Electric Vehicles Charging Stations (EVCSs). The results of this project will enable agencies and businesses to evaluate hypothetical deployment scenarios of EVCSs , promoting a multi-dimensional approach to infrastructure design.”
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Monaghan Lab receives NIH funding to research retinoic acid in axolotls
“This study aims to investigate the mechanisms by which retinoic acid modifies chromatin architecture and gene expression to establish the proximodistal (shoulder to digit) axis in the salamander forelimb during regeneration. Utilizing methods in nucleic acid sequencing, in situ visualization, and genome editing, the investigators explore the molecular underpinnings of retinoic acid’s influence on positional identity in regenerating limb cells. The results of this study will deepen our understanding of the fundamental pathways promoting complex tissue regeneration, potentiating novel therapeutic targets in humans, whose regenerative capacity is largely restricted to the digit tip.”
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Brenhouse made president-elect of International Society for Developmental Psychobiology
Heather Brenhouse, professor of psychology at Northeastern University, “directs the Developmental Neuropsychobiology Lab. She has served on the ISDP Governing Board since 2022, and has been honored to help further the organization’s mission of encouraging and disseminating science related to perinatal development, childhood and adolescence — all critically important for a comprehensive understanding of the brain and behavior. She has also served on the Women’s Task Force as a member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP), and is a member of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology (SBN).”
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Egido receives NSF funding to study healthy food choices within urban planning
“In this project, the investigators study the causal relationship between the urban areas we visit frequently and healthy food choices using massive datasets of human mobility in cities. The results will offer broader impacts on a range of future issues in public health, urban planning, and transportation management.”
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Zhang receives Responsible Research in Management award
Assistant professor of management and organizational development Victoria Zhang has received the Responsible Research in Management Award from the Academy of Management for her paper “Where Is All the Deviance? Liminal Prescribing and the Social Networks Underlying the Prescription Drug Crisis.” “This annual award recognizes and celebrates recent research that benefits society by producing credible and useful knowledge,” the Academy of Management noted in their announcement.
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Lu receives distinguished communication scholarship
Associate professor of communication studies in the College of Arts, Media and Design Amy Lu has received the Gerald M. Phillips Award for Distinguished Applied Communication Scholarship from the National Communication Association. “Dr. Lu’s scholarship explores the power of narratives in interactive communication technologies informed by an interdisciplinary and community-engaged approach,” the association states in its announcement. “This program of research has been supported by an impressive record of securing external grant funding and demonstrates great promise in shaping the future of health communication.”
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Patent granted for engineered bacteria ‘secreting therapeutic proteins’
“Engineered bacteria that secrete therapeutic polypeptides, pharmaceutical compositions comprising the bacteria, methods for producing recombinant polypeptides, and methods for using the bacteria for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes are provided,” the abstract reads.
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Taylor receives Harold Osher Award for research in sleep problems for children with autism
“Taylor, an emerging researcher in the field of mental and behavioral health, was presented with the Harold Osher Award for Excellence in Clinical and Population Health at the annual Lambrew Research Retreat sponsored by the MaineHealth Research Institute on May 1st, 2024. One hundred and thirty abstracts were submitted for the award, and after a blind panel review, Taylor’s abstract, ‘Sleep Problems in Children with Autism at the Time of Psychiatric Hospitalization in Relation to Parental Stress and Self-Efficacy,’ was awarded first place in the category of clinical and population health research.”
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Wesley wins 2023 Fox International Case Writing Competition
In a post on LinkedIn, David Wesley wrote that he was “honored to be the winner of the 2023 Fox International Case Writing Competition with the case study, ‘Anheuser-Busch and the Anti-Transgender Boycott of Bud Light.'” Wesley performed this research “to show how Bud Light, as the leading beer brand in America, had to deal with a crisis situation that resulted from its campaign with a transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney.” Wesley continued, “The case highlights the duty of care that businesses have to their stakeholders, especially in times of crisis.”
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Zheng receives funding for ‘innovative’ hybrid fuel cells
“Mechanical and industrial engineering associate professor Yi Zheng received a research grant of $208,957 to work on a three-year project, ‘Innovative Hybrid PEM Hydrogen Fuel Cell,’ from THETA LLC of Fall River, Massachusetts. This project will study the biomimetic hybrid hydrogen fuel cell as a practical alternative, addressing key barriers to widespread adoption. This involves developing non-platinum (Pt)-based gas diffusion layer/carbon electrodes, implementing enzymatic catalysts, and constructing a hybrid fuel cell to achieve high current and power densities by increasing the volumetric loading and conductivity of the hybrid biocatalyst.”
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Oakes named to ASME top 25 Watch List
The “American Society of Mechanical Engineers recognized bioengineering associate professor Jessica Oakes on the Watch List of top 25 early career professionals. Her ASME magazine profile highlighted her work ‘What Happens When We Inhale Things?’ with applications from wildfire smoke to e-cigarettes.”
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Zhu receives ECS Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship for research on sustainable batteries
“Mechanical and industrial engineering assistant professor Juner Zhu is one of only three individuals to receive an Electrochemical Society Toyota Young Investigator Fellowship this year. He will conduct research to assess the condition of batteries in electric vehicles using mechano-electrochemical techniques that will identify a battery’s physical changes to determine its overall health.”
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Santillana added to Atlas of Inspiring Hispanic/Latinx Scientists
Mauricio Santillana, a professor of both physics and electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University, has been added to the Atlas of Inspiring Hispanic/Latinx Scientists, hosted by the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. The atlas is described as “a grassroots effort developed to showcase the expertise, talents, and diversity of Hispanic and Latinx scientific faculty.” Santillana’s research focuses on modeling complex events — like disease outbreaks— through machine learning and network science.
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Northeastern partners with National Science Foundation to launch regional research security center
Backed by a five-year $4.9 million investment from the NSF, the center will be an information clearinghouse for the research community.
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Zhao receives NSF award for modeling ammonia production methods
“Chemical engineering assistant professor Qing Zhao was awarded a $537,226 NSF award for ‘Automated Embedded Correlated Wavefunction Theory for Kinetic Modeling in Heterogeneous Catalysis.’ The research will investigate ammonia production with a goal of developing advanced computational modeling tools to understand fundamental chemistry in ammonia synthesis powered by renewable electrical energy/stored electrons.”
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Engineering professor receives 2024 Excellence in Teaching Award
“First-year engineering teaching professor Joshua Hertz received the 2024 University Excellence in Teaching Award. … Hertz has been instrumental in advancing instruction in the Cornerstone of Engineering program. He emphasizes a curriculum based on highly open-ended problems, increasing students’ self-efficacy and tolerance for ambiguity. His hands-on approach and commitment to experiential learning has students work with community and global partners, supporting Northeastern’s mission to create engaged, passionate, ethical problem solvers.”
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National Institute of Aging supports Apfeld lifespan research
Javier Apfeld, associate professor of biology, has received funding from the National Institute of Aging for “Genome-Wide CRISPR Activation: A Novel Strategy for Identifying Anti-Aging Targets.” Apfeld writes that, “This project will characterize and optimize a novel time and cost saving toolkit that allows simple, rapid and robust activation of gene expression in the widely used model organism C. elegans, bringing new capabilities to systematically test the effect of gene activation in a broad range of biological problems. These capabilities will be employed to search for novel genes whose activation promotes healthy aging and increases lifespan.”
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Leading nanomedicine researcher named Highly Ranked Scholar by ScholarGPS
Northeastern University Distinguished Professor Vladimir Torchilin has been named a Highly Ranked Scholar by ScholarGPS for research advances in the fields of drug delivery and nanomedicine.
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NIH funding for nanomedicine co-ops fighting cancer
“CaNCURE: Cancer Nanomedicine Co-ops for Undergraduate Research Experiences Program seeks to provide training and education in research at the interface of nanotechnology, cancer biology and medicine to attract, retain and encourage young scientists and engineers, particularly those from underrepresented minorities, to pursue careers in cancer research. The program will achieve this central aim by creating meaningful and rigorous research experiences mentored by outstanding academic and clinical researchers and supplemented with high-impact learning and professional development opportunities. The program combines Northeastern University’s model of co-op education with the outstanding cancer nanomedicine research infrastructure at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center.”
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Hillman receives funding to study ‘Persistence of Neurocognitive Benefits of Exercise’
“In this 5-year follow-up to the IGNITE exercise intervention study we will examine whether exercise has a delayed or protracted benefit to neurocognitive outcomes including Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology. We will also examine whether we can predict long-term exercise engagement by utilizing the rich biological and psychological data from IGNITE.”