Chad Mirkin
Director, International Institute for Nanotechnology & George B. Rathmann Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, USA
Main research aims? We synthesize new forms of matter at the nanoscale, delineate the unique properties that distinguish these structures from all other forms of matter, and use this knowledge to develop technologies that advance medicine, clean energy, optics and photonics, manufacturing, and other fields.
An exciting instrumental innovation… There are many. One example from our group: we recently invented nanoparticle “megalibraries,” arrays of billions of nanoparticles with compositional and structural gradients. These libraries are analytical tools that allow scientists to engage in the high-throughput materials discovery. The growth of AI has been rapid and impressive. When we incorporate AI with megalibraries, we can analyze and interpret the massive amounts of data generated from them very efficiently. AI enhances our ability to identify patterns and predict material behaviors, significantly accelerating the pace of innovation.
A problem that could be tackled interdisciplinarily… Structural nanomedicine is a new framework for preparing highly potent medicines by taking into account the structural presentation of the different components that define a particular medicine. A good example of this approach involves vaccine development where we are utilizing spherical nucleic acid (SNA) nanoconstructs as modular entities to explore how the structural presentation of adjuvant and antigen impact therapeutic response in the context of many cancer models. Progress in this area will be spurred by interdisciplinary projects that involve researchers from the fields of chemistry, biology, data science, medicine, engineering, and materials science.
Most memorable advice? At the start of my journey at MIT as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, I initially was intimidated by the aura of the institution and many of my peers, most of whom had perfect academic pedigrees. I wasn’t certain I could compete, but, as a friend of mine put it, “Everyone here puts their pants on one leg at a time; no one jumps off the dresser!”
