In this issue: Faculty News | Research and Awards | Faculty and Staff Highlights | Student News and AwardsFeatured Publications


Valerie DaggettValerie Daggett has developed an early Alzheimer’s diagnostic test

A laboratory test that can detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease years – even decades – before cognitive impairment occurs has been developed by Valerie Daggett and fellow BioE researchers.

Faculty News

Joan Sanders

Prof. Joan Sanders’ prosthetic leg advancements featured in UW Today

Joan Sanders and her team are creating a new type of prosthetic leg that automatically adjusts its fit to accommodate changes in limb size throughout the day. “The fit is always perfect.”

Albert Folch and his bookHidden in Plain Sight is chosen as an Outstanding Academic Title

Albert Foch’s book, Hidden in Plain Sight, was called “Truly wonderful…” in a review by CHOICE Connects and chosen as an Outstanding Academic Title in 2022 by Choice. The book shares the technology behind everyday devices from inkjet and 3D printers to glucose strips and COVID-19 tests.

Shelley Sakiyama-ElbertShelley Sakiyama-Elbert joins BioE

UW Bioengineering welcomes new core faculty member, Shelley Sakiyama-Elbert, who brings her expertise in developing techniques to promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury and treat peripheral nerve damage.

Chris neils And Robbie Wong

Congratulations to faculty members Christopher Neils and Roberta Wong for their promotions

BioE is very pleased to have Chris Neils and Robbie Wong’s expertise as core faculty members.

Research and Awards

Andre Berndt and Michael Rappleye

Berndt lab wins prestigious McKnight Innovations in Neuroscience Award

The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience recognized Andre Berndt with the 2022 McKnight award. Berndt and his team are developing a rapid way to identify and optimize molecular tools called biosensors, which have been a major advance in the study of brain function.

Syringe and vialBryers lab awarded $3.1M to develop self-replicating mRNA vaccine for staph infection

A National Institutes of Health award will allow James Bryers to lead work on a biomaterials vaccine for staph infections that is given once, eliminating the need for repeated larger doses.


Faculty and Staff Highlights

Ayokunle Olanrewaju

Meet the Researcher: Ayokunle Olanrewaju

UW Bioengineering professor, Ayo Olanrewaju, named a top 1,000 inspiring Black scientist, shares his research, what he envisions for its future and what attracted him to UW.

Chelsea MusickMeet Chelsea Musick

Learn about longtime BioE staff member Chelsea Musick’s passion for efficiencies and how it has benefited BioE and UW.

Student News and Awards

Julien Bloch

BioE Ph.D. student Julien Bloch, receives the 2022 Center for Neurotechnology Best Paper Award

Julien Bloch’s paper titled Network structure mediates functional reorganization induced by optogenetic stimulation of non-human primate sensorimotor cortex was honored by the Center for Neurotechnology.

Coffee Chats Poster

Creating community through Coffee Chats

Students and faculty collaborated to create a program to help build connections, mentoring and community for BioE students, faculty and staff.

Zoe Chau, Samuel Chen, Joanne Liu, Ruby Lunde

Four BioE undergrads co-author exosomes paper

When the pandemic kept students from working in labs, four UW undergrads collaborated with five university students living in Taiwan to write a paper about exosomes to benefit other researchers. The paper was so helpful it was published in the prestigious journal Advanced Science.

BioE ScholarsNine UW BioE students receive scholarships and fellowships

Congratulations to undergrads Zoe Chau, Fang-Hua (Flora) Hu, Joey Liang, Eesha Murali, Tran Luu, Carter Rowell and Jamie Yang, and master’s student Rachel Shi for being honored with fellowships and scholarships for the 2022/2023 academic year.

Featured Publications

SBbadger: biochemical reaction networks with definable degree distributions
Michael Kochen et al
Herbert Sauro and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Bioinformatics

A novel portable sensor to monitor bodily positions and activities in transtibial prosthesis users
Joseph C Mertens et al
Joan Sanders lab and UW Depts. of Mechanical Engineering; Rehabilitation Medicine
Clin Biomech

Improving the Efficacy and Accessibility of Intracranial Viral Vector Delivery in Non-Human Primates
Devon J  Griggs et al
Azadeh Yazdan-Shahmorad lab and UW Depts. of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Neuroscience; Physiology and Biophysics; Biology, Earth and Space Sciences / Washington National Primate Research Center / Bellevue School District / Allen Institute for Brain Science
Pharmaceutics

Discovery of a Transferrin Receptor 1-Binding Aptamer and Its Application in Cancer Cell Depletion for Adoptive T-Cell Therapy Manufacturing
Emily L. Cheng et al
Suzie Pun lab and UW Dept. of Laboratory Medicine / Seattle Children’s Therapeutics / City University of New York / City College of New York / Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
J Am Chem Soc.

Development of a Primary Human Intestinal Epithelium Enriched in L-Cells for Assay of GLP-1 Secretion
Cecilia Villegas-Novoa et al
Nancy Allbritton lab and Altis Biosystems, Inc.
Anal Chem.

Organotypic whole hemisphere brain slice models to study the effects of donor age and oxygen-glucose-deprivation on the extracellular properties of cortical and striatal tissue
Michael McKenna et al
Elizabeth Nance and UW Depts. of Chemical Engineering; Chemistry / UW e-Science Institute
J Biol Eng.

Genome-wide protein-DNA interaction site mapping in bacteria using a double-stranded DNA-specific cytosine deaminase
Larry Gallagher et al
Paul Wiggins and UW Depts. of Microbiology; Physics; Laboratory Medicine and Pathology; Microbiology; Biochemistry / UW Howard Hughes Medical Institute / National Center of Biotechnology CSIC / Case Western Reserve University / Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School /
Nat Microbiol

Patient-centered mobile tuberculosis treatment support tools (TB-TSTs) to improve treatment adherence: A pilot randomized controlled trial exploring feasibility, acceptability and refinement needs.
Sarah Iribarren et al
Barry Lutz and UW Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics / UW Office for Nursing Research / Hospital Cetrángolo / Columbia University School of Nursing / Hospital del Tórax Dr. Antonio A. Cetrángolo / Institute of Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS) / University of Pennsylvania
The Lancet Regional Health – Americas