April Bulletin

Issue 67

Community Notices

April Research Seminar.

Next (internal) Marble Center seminar is on Monday April 25th, 4-5pm at the KI Luria Auditorium with a research update on “Engineering nanoparticles for hematopoietic stem cell targeting” by Dr. Tamara Dacoba of the Hammond Lab. The research update will be followed by an academic early career panel in STEM joined by former Convergence Scholars, Drs. Natalie Boehnke (Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Minnesota), Liang Hao (Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University), and Ritu Raman (d'Arbeloff Career Development Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT).

For those who prefer to join remotely, the Zoom link will be provided in a reminder email through our distribution list. Following the seminar, please join us for a social with food and drinks (starting at 5:00pm).

Translating Academic Research

Missed last month’s Hot Topic discussion? Here is a link to Dr. Greg Ekchian’s presentation on “Enabling Oxygen Informed Cancer Care.” Greg is the co-founder and CEO of Stratagen Bio, where he is developing a suite of novel tissue oxygen sensors and treatment planning software to personalize and customize treatments across a wide range of clinical indications.

Registration is now open for the Marble Center Poster Symposium!

Don’t miss your chance to be part of our exciting poster symposium and build connections with industry! Top 3 posters will receive prizes (judges will be a mix of faculty and industry members), and catered food and drinks will be provided at the event.

Please register here by Friday April 15th so we can get an accurate count for displays and food at this Happy Hour event.

In the News

The National Nanotechnology Initiatives publishes the 2022 Budget

The President’s 2022 Budget requests $1.98 billion for the NNI, with a continued investment in the foundational research that will fuel the discoveries necessary to advance industries of the future and address world challenges. Cumulatively totaling over $38 billion (including the 2022 request), NNI investments support research to understand matter at the nanoscale and to translate this knowledge into technological breakthroughs that benefit the American people. Read more…

Kendall Square has a diversity problem. These women are trying to solve it

*A woman’s reflection is seen through a colored sticker adhered to a window in Kendall Square (image by Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)*

(by Robert Buderi of the Boston Globe) “Kendall Square in Cambridge is arguably the world’s greatest and densest innovation hub, an enormously complex ecosystem of people, ideas, companies, offices, and laboratories.

As is the case with all ecosystems, the area is constantly changing. It boomed in the early 1900s, leading the country in soap production, candy making, printing and publishing, and more. But a few decades later, virtually all of that was gone. Similarly, in the 1980s, a slew of startups out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were supposedly blazing the way to a bright future in artificial intelligence — only to go almost entirely extinct within a decade. Today, biotechnology dominates Kendall Square. But if history is any guide, that too could change. Read more…

Jobs

Postdoctoral Fellow, Non-Viral Gene Therapy, Genomic Medicine Unit, Sanofi.

The Genomic Medicine Unit is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellowship candidate that will help build innovation in the area of tissue-targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery. The successful candidate will work transversally with members of various research groups including non-viral research, large molecule research, molecular biology, and bioinformatic teams to optimize delivery of DNA cargo and nanoparticle formulations to specific tissues. Participation in this project will provide the candidate a tangible opportunity to contribute to development of novel genomic medicine approaches for rare diseases with unmet need. The candidate will also join the Global Sanofi Postdoctoral program and community in which there are opportunities for networking, learning, career development and mentorship. The Global Sanofi Postdoctoral program offers several activities, including ‘Lunch & Share’, a forum for data sharing and feedback, “Lunch & Learn” with presentations from subject matter experts across Sanofi, ‘Fireside Chats’ comprising career stories and advice from Sanofi leadership, and an annual Postdoctoral symposium which provides the opportunity for fellows to showcase their research and themselves to the entire Global R&D Organization. Contact Tarek Fadel (tfadel@mit.edu) to learn more.

Associate Professor, Artificial Intelligence for Materials and Molecular Discovery, Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto.

Applicants must have earned a PhD degree in chemical, environmental or materials engineering or in applied chemistry or a related area, with a clearly demonstrated exceptional record of excellence in research, service, training, and teaching. We seek candidates whose research and teaching interests complement and enhance our existing departmental strengths . The successful candidate will be an internationally recognized research leader in artificial intelligence for materials and molecular discovery research whose accomplishments have made a major impact on the field and/or societal impact. Candidates will be expected to sustain and lead innovative research that will advance the global frontiers of knowledge in the field, and to maintain an outstanding, competitive, and externally funded research program. Learn more…