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Advance the biosciences

University Priority

Enhancing Quality of Life

Innovation in the biosciences is essential to helping us live longer and healthier lives.

Northwestern scientists and researchers deliver cutting-edge treatments and cures through their pathbreaking work in synthetic biology, chemistry, cancer research, public health and more.

With collaboration across schools, campuses and partners such as Northwestern Medicine, a significant percentage of the University’s research enterprise is dedicated to the biosciences. This page provides a snapshot of the transformative work taking place at Northwestern.

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Northwestern scientists have been blazing new trails in synthetic biology — an innovative marriage of engineering, physics and biological systems — for nearly two decades. Attracting world-class faculty and a growing NIH funding, CSB was established as a nexus of this emerging field that is poised to transform medicine, energy and more.

QSIB combines engineering, life sciences and medicine to create biocompatible electronics, photonics and microfluidics that merge seamlessly with the human body. QSIB's bioelectronic platforms attach to — or even integrate within — vital organs, unlocking unprecedented diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical possibilities. From advancing clinical care and biomedical research to enhancing athletic performance, fitness and overall wellness, QSIB’s innovations redefine what’s possible for human health and beyond.
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people working in a lab

Imagine therapies so precise they destroy cancer cells without harming healthy tissue, nanoscale materials that rebuild bone and restore spinal cord function, and “nanosponges” that cleanse oil spills and polluted water without endangering marine life. IIN is turning these possibilities into reality. From revolutionizing energy and the environment to redefining health care, this work in nanotechnology is opening doors to solutions once thought impossible.

Lurie Cancer Center is one of only 57 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and a Lead Academic Participating Site in the National Clinical Trials Network. Its strengths include a hematopoietic stem cell transplant program that performs 350+ transplants annually, Illinois’s first and only proton therapy center and OncoSET, a pioneering precision-medicine program.

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Meet Some of Our Experts

Northwestern’s researchers make breakthroughs that advance healthcare for everyone.

With an emphasis on translational medicine, our physician-scientists and engineers are at the forefront of research and discovery.

Highlights

Learn about Northwestern’s leadership in the biosciences.

News

See Northwestern’s new developments in support of this priority.

Cellular gate dilates and constricts like an eye’s iris to let molecules pass through

New institute will create a streamlined path from device innovation to patient care

Implant could restore lost senses, provide sensory feedback for prosthetic limbs

First study to use worn face masks as a passive tool to monitor indoor air

Querrey-Simpson Institute for Translational Engineering for Advanced Medical Systems launches with $29 million in support from Trustee Kimberly K. Querrey

New technology illuminates the messages that cells leave behind