Unlocking Biological Materials for Better Therapies

Researchers at Tufts’ Laboratory for Living Devices link materials like silk and paper with technology, medicine, and diagnostics
Bree Aldridge giving an explanation to students
Faculty in the Laboratory for Living Devices invite the public to L²D Day on November 7, where they’ll reveal multidisciplinary innovations that could profoundly impact global human health. Photo: Paul Rutherford for Tufts University

What exactly are living devices? They sound like they might come straight out of science fiction, but they are in fact being created at Tufts every day, from silk-based sensors attached to your teeth to monitor your diet to paper cards used to diagnose disease.

Now researchers at Tufts’ Laboratory for Living Devices (L²D) want to share the science behind their advances. They are hosting L²D Day, an interactive event that will be held on Thursday, November 7, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the atrium of the Science and Engineering Complex, 200 College Avenue, Medford.

The Tufts community is invited to hear faculty talk about their ongoing projects and meet L2D researchers who will demonstrate prototypes with applications in technology, medicine, diagnostics, and personalized health.

“Tufts is at the forefront in engineering biocompatible materials, and we thought, why not share our enthusiasm for what we’re doing,” said Fiorenzo Omenetto, the Frank C. Doble Professor of Engineering at the School of Engineering, who has pioneered silk as a platform for advanced technology with applications in photonics, optoelectronics, and nanotechnology. “We know we’re not alone in thinking that these products are very cool.”

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