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A research team led by Christina Woo, professor of chemistry and chemical biology, in collaboration with a team of scientists at pharmaceutical company GSK and Scripps Research Institute, discovered a hidden binding pocket on the protein cereblon. The discovery of the allosteric cereblon binder could uncover a new area of cereblon biology to explore for cancer drugs.

Researchers in Andrew Kruse’s lab overcame a key obstacle in using the hormone relaxin as a therapy for heart disease. With support from Harvard’s Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator, this discovery led to the launch of Tectonic Therapeutic, which is now testing its relaxin-based drug in clinical trials.

Researchers in the lab of Katia Bertoldi, the William and Ami Kuan Danoff Professor of Applied Mechanics at SEAS, published a study reporting that squeaking emerges from a previously unseen mechanism. Answering the question ‘why do gym sneakers squeak’ could lead to new ways to engineer and control tunable frictional metamaterials.

Drawing inspiration from how organisms regulate temperature using liquids—such as perspiration and blood vessel constriction—researchers at SEAS are developing a liquid-based screen that adheres to windows and controls how much heat and light pass through.