A research study led jointly by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s (RPI) Gaetano Montelione, Ph.D., Professor and Constellation Endowed Chair of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; and David Baker, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry, HHMI investigator, and the director of the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington School of Medicine; describes a systematic high-throughput design approach for virtual screening and creation of novel polypeptide-based molecules that form regular secondary structures that can be used in biology or materials science research. Baker was recently named a co-recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the emerging field of de novo protein design.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Christopher Cioffi, Ph.D., Thomas and Constance D'Ambra Professor in Organic Chemistry, has been collaborating with Konstantin Petrukhin, Ph.D., Professor of Ophthalmic Science at Columbia University, to develop compounds to treat dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Stargardt disease — both blindness-causing diseases.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Christopher Cioffi, Ph.D., Thomas and Constance D'Ambra Professor in Organic Chemistry, has been collaborating with Konstantin Petrukhin, Ph.D., Professor of Ophthalmic Science at Colombia University, to develop compounds to treat dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Stargardt disease - both blindness-causing diseases.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) has been awarded two grants by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to train graduate students on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research and commercialization. NIA is one of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary federal agency supporting and conducting AD research.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Peter J. Bonitatibus Jr., Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology, has been honored with the Anders Gustaf Ekeberg Tantalum Prize for excellence in tantalum research and innovation. Bonitatibus was presented the award by the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.) based out of Belgium at T.I.C.'s 65th General Assembly held in Tokyo, Japan.

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Richard Gross, Ph.D., Constellation Chair of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, has been selected as a member of the 2024 class of fellows of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The ACS Fellows Program honors members of the ACS “for their outstanding achievements in and contributions to the science and the profession and for their equally exemplary service to the Society.” Gross is one of 37 members this year with the distinction.

Blanca Barquera's investigation into the energy-generating processes of Bacteroides, the most abundant member of the gut microbiome, and their impact on our well-being holds the promise of significant advancements in human health. Barquera is a professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry and Chemical Biology.

Chunyu Wang, M.D., Ph.D., professor of biological sciences and chemistry and chemical biology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been awarded a five-year grant of more than $3.7 million by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging to study Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) isoform interactions with heparan sulfate (HS) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Brianna Casey ’26 is one of 40 undergraduate students nationwide to be selected for NASA’s Europa ICONS (Inspiring Clipper: Opportunities for Next-Generation Scientists) internship program. The program supports the Europa Clipper mission, with the goal of determining whether Jupiter’s moon, Europa, has “conditions suitable to support life.” Scientists predict that an ocean lies beneath Europa’s icy shell, so massive that it is bigger than all of Earth’s oceans combined.