Life Sciences & Biotechnology

Cells in a petri dish

Driving the future of life sciences fundamental and applied research

Research in Life Sciences and Biotechnology at WPI stands at the intersection of the life sciences, the physical and computer sciences, and engineering. Our researchers are creating new routes to drug discovery and development, exploring the fundamental mechanisms of life to expand knowledge about human diseases and how to treat them. Laboratory discoveries combined with computational analysis are illuminating the workings of everything from chromosomes to viruses, fungi, and bacteria.

Research at WPI

Cells in a petri dish

Exploring the Mysteries of Cilia

Tiny structures called cilia sit on cells and are critical to health. Researcher Inna Nechipurenko is studying how genes impact cilia formation and function in nerve cells.
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Katalin Kariko

Nature and WPI

“The Nature conference at WPI brought some of the most brilliant minds in the world under one roof for three days to share insights, engage with students, and to find out what the future holds for nucleic acid medicine,” said Jean King, Peterson Family Dean of Arts and Sciences at WPI.
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Amity Manning in her lab

Mechanisms of Cell Division

With a $1.1 million grant, Amity Manning is determining the factors determine the factors that influence a critical piece of cellular machinery during normal cell division.
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Facilities

Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center

Interdisciplinary research teams go beyond traditional academic department boundaries and coalesce around ideas to approach complex problems from multiple perspectives.

Read about the Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center
Students work in the BETC at WPI

BETC

The Biomanufacturing Education and Training Center (BETC) is a 10,000 square-foot, pilot-scale lab facility that offers hands-on training and customized workforce development solutions for forward-thinking biotechnology companies. 

Read about the BETC
Student working with high-tech equipment

PracticePoint

PracticePoint is a membership-based facility for health technology research, development, and testing. PracticePoint includes a fully instrumented living space, a patient care suite, an MRI imaging center, and an operating room co-located with advanced manufacturing capabilities.

Read about PracticePoint
Student workers in the LEAP facility at WPI.

LEAP

The Lab for Education and Application Prototypes is a partnership between WPI and Quinsigamond Community College. LEAP @ WPI/QCC houses equipment and facilities needed to prototype integrated photonics devices and develop the workforce that will manufacture them.

Read about LEAP
A scientist working with diffusers

CERES

The Cell Engineering Research Equipment Suite (CERES) is a fee-for-use facility for academic and industry researchers. CERES provides instruments for quantitative analysis of engineered cells. 

Read about CERES

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