From agricultural waste to carbon-negative chemicals, Dr. Anthony Berardi’s journey with Citrimer highlights how resourcefulness and persistence can help move an idea from concept to startup.

Dr. Matthew Willsey, who led the surgery, said the research could represent an important step toward improving communication options for people with paralysis who have limited effective treatment options.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year grant expected to total approximately $2.5 million to U-M researchers, with an aim to engineer precision biomaterials to track, recruit, and study specialized immune cells. The project is a collaborative effort featuring Aaron Morris, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, and co-investigator James Moon, the J.G. Searle Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy, and Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering.

Immune-relevant proteins are important drug targets, and many are redox-regulated. A chemoproteomics-driven annotation of redox-regulated immune-relevant proteins and ligand discovery effort led to the development of covalent allosteric modulators targeting a redox-sensitive cysteine in SHP1, a protein tyrosine phosphatase that negatively regulates immune signaling.

Nanomaterials can manifest new material properties when clusters of nanoparticle crystals are connected by more randomly distributed particles. In many nanoparticle systems, graph theory offers a framework to quantify and tune complexity, defined as the mix of order and randomness. The findings bring University of Michigan Engineering’s Center for Complex Particle Systems closer to its goal of designing bio-inspired materials with properties rarely, if ever, seen in nature.

At an ultralow intravenous dose (0.003 milligrams per kilogram), CRYSTAL activated STING in mice, dogs, and nonhuman primates without cytokine release syndrome. CRYSTAL induced robust tumor regression in advanced murine and rabbit models, remodeled immunosuppressive environments, and promoted host STING–dependent CD8+ T cell priming. CRYSTAL activated interferon responses in human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma biopsies, underscoring its translational potential for cancer immunotherapy.

“Because our immune system is designed to protect against pathogens, we believe we can utilize our immune system to fight against many other diseases, including cancer. So my lab has been using drugs, as well as dietary fibers that can boost immune responses against various diseases, including cancer.”

Congratulations, Dr. Carlos Aguilar, on being named to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to medical and biological engineers, comprised of the top two percent of engineers in these fields.

New Exciting Paper from BI Core Faculty, Dr. Jae-Won Shin.

“We present an integrated platform that combines parallel deterministic single-cell encapsulation acrossmultiple microgel sizes with machine-learning analysis of cell morphology, revealing size-dependentphenotypes and enabling prediction of microenvironmental confinement.”

Researchers at U-M Biomedical Engineering, led by Lonnie Shea, Steven A. Goldstein Collegiate Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Ph.D. student Kate Griffin, and Jeff Ma, Ph.D., have published a study in Cell Biomaterials revealing a new approach to treating metastatic cancer using specially designed nanoparticles. This innovation could mark a major turning point in how metastatic cancers are treated in the future.

“At the University of Michigan, we want to be focused on not just for our specific patients but for people in Michigan. We want to be focused on bringing people the most up to date clinical trials, the latest technology, so that it can be available to people.” Dr. Matthew Willsey

The December 2025 Michigan Research newsletter highlights how U-M researchers are turning bold ideas into real-world solutions. Featured work includes Cindy Chestek’s groundbreaking research on thought-controlled prosthetics, alongside advances in AI-enabled healthcare, interdisciplinary science, and innovation that directly improves lives.

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Sunitha Nagrath has been named the Dwight F. Benton Professor of Chemical Engineering!

In celebration of Dr. Nagrath’s innovative leadership in microfluidics and cancer diagnostics, and her dedication to translating engineering breakthroughs into tools that improve patient care. Her lab’s “smart chips” can isolate and analyze rare circulating tumor cells. A major stride in cancer research and diagnostics.