Eric Brouzes, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, was awarded a competitive fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to conduct research in Japan, according to an April 7 announcement.
The fellowship supports travel and two months of research in Tokyo, where Brouzes will work with Professor Masahiro Takinoue’s laboratory. The collaboration aims to combine DNA nanotechnology—which uses DNA as a building material to create tiny programmable structures—and microphotonics, which involves controlling and manipulating light at a very small scale.
Brouzes said that many researchers applied for the JSPS fellowship. “That’s why it gets very competitive. This work will expand my research into areas that I was only teaching before. Now I get to re-expand and develop projects in that area,” he said.
While working with Takinoue’s lab, which developed foundational DNA nanostar technology and offers advanced facilities and expertise, Brouzes expects their combined skills will advance new projects. “I try to emphasize that collaborations like this bring my expertise and their expertise together,” he said. “I think that synergy makes it very exciting, and it’s going to make it productive.”
Although the project is currently at an early stage, there are hopes for future biomedical applications such as diagnostics or detection technologies. Takinoue said: “This represents exciting research that will make significant contributions to the fields of artificial cell science, engineering biology and biosensing and is expected to find applications in diagnostics and molecular artificial intelligence in the future.”
Brouzes plans for this experience abroad not only to strengthen ties between his lab at Stony Brook University and Takinoue’s team but also help launch new lines of research back home. “Strengthening our collaboration and then starting a new line of research in my lab are the goals,” he said. “The plan is to come back with ideas to pursue for biomedical applications.”
