Surpassing more than 300 participants, chemical engineering PhD student Hector Sanchez-Moran took home first prize at the PEGS Essential Protein and Antibody Engineering Summit poster presentation competition.
PhD Student Albert Velasco Abadia was awarded the prestigious Materials Research Society Graduate Student Gold Award for his research in using biological catalysts 鈥 also known as enzymes 鈥 for triggering shape reconfigurations in "smart" materials known as liquid crystal networks.
COVID-19 vaccines are just the beginning for mRNA-based therapies; enabling a patient鈥檚 body to make almost any given protein could revolutionize care for other viruses, like HIV, as well as various cancers and genetic disorders. However, because mRNA molecules are very fragile, they require extremely low temperatures for storage and transportation. The logistical challenges and expense of maintaining these temperatures must be overcome before mRNA therapies can become truly widespread.