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 $1 billion research enterprise is dedicated to the biosciences. This page provides a snapshot of the transformative work taking place at Northwestern.

Center for Synthetic Biology

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. With a recent $18.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Northwestern continues to lead in this space.

Chemistry of Life Processes Institute

Home of the blockbuster drug Lyrica®, CLP is now on an ambitious quest to sequence proteins on the scale of the Human Genome Project. Ushering in a new era of personalized medicine, the institute is at the forefront of proteomics, a revolutionary and fast-growing field that identifies and measures proteins, linking genes and diseases to diagnose and treat threats to human health.

Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center

One of the rigorously selected National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, the Lurie Cancer Center has recently received NCI’s highest rating — overall “exceptional” — along with an estimated $30 million in core funding to build on its 50 years of breakthrough research leading to better ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer.

Institute for Public Health and Medicine

A powerhouse of public health research at the Feinberg School of Medicine, IPHAM sheds critical light on societal ails ranging from health disparities to food allergies to the opioid crisis and more. Working closely with Chicago communities while uncovering data that has national impact, IPHAM changes lives every day through interdisciplinary collaborations that cut across medicine, social sciences and technology.

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.

Shana Kelley

Kelley, a chemist and biomedical engineer, leads the new Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago and is developing new tools for the diagnosis of disease.

Jonathan Rivnay

Rivnay engineers organic and biohybrid bioelectronic materials, devices and systems for interfacing between the complex world of biology and traditional optoelectronics.

Ali Shilatifard

Shilatifard’s laboratory studies how environmental context alters the expression of our cellular genome and results in diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders and aging.

Highlights

Learn about Northwestern’s leadership in the biosciences.

Slowing the Aging Process

The Potocsnak Longevity Institute has launched the Human Longevity Laboratory, a longitudinal, cross-sectional study that investigates the relationship between chronological age and biological age and validates interventions that may reverse or slow down the processes of aging.

Understanding the Human Brain

The Feinberg Neuroscience Institute works to understand a broad spectrum of neurological and psychiatric conditions, bringing together expertise in neuroscience, genetics, AI, implementation science and more to translate novel scientific discoveries into new and more effective treatments.

Developing Bioelectronics for the Human Body

The Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics innovates at the intersections of engineering, science and medicine to facilitate the development of biocompatible electronic, photonic and microfluidic technologies for the human body.