Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
MottoBreakthrough discoveries cannot change the world if they do not leave the lab
Parent institutionHarvard University
Founder(s)Hansjörg Wyss
Established2009; 15 years ago (2009)
MissionTransform healthcare, industry, and the environment by emulating the way nature builds.[1]
FocusBioengineering, Bionics
HeadDonald E. Ingber
Location, ,
U.S.
Websitewyss.harvard.edu

The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering (pronounced /vs/ "veese") is a cross-disciplinary research institute at Harvard University focused on bridging the gap between academia and industry (translational medicine) by drawing inspiration from nature's design principles to solve challenges in health care and the environment. It is focused on the field of biologically inspired engineering to be distinct from bioengineering and biomedical engineering. The institute also has a focus on applications, intellectual property generation, and commercialization.[2]

The Wyss Institute is located in Boston's Longwood Medical Area and has 375 full-time staff.[3] The Wyss is organized around eight focus areas, each of which integrate faculty, postdocs, fellows, and staff scientists. The focus areas are bioinspired therapeutics & diagnostics, diagnostics accelerator, immuno-materials, living cellular devices, molecular robotics, 3D organ engineering, predictive bioanalytics and synthetic biology.[4]

  1. ^ "FAQ". Wyss Institute. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  2. ^ Tolikas, M; Antoniou, A; Ingber, DE (September 2017). "The Wyss institute: A new model for medical technology innovation and translation across the academic-industrial interface". Bioengineering & Translational Medicine. 2 (3): 247–257. doi:10.1002/btm2.10076. PMC 5689495. PMID 29313034.
  3. ^ Kuznitz, Alison (June 7, 2019). "Harvard alumnus donates $131m to research institute". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  4. ^ "Wyss Institute | Wyss Institute at Harvard". Wyss Institute. Retrieved 2022-03-17.