Kyle MacQuarrie, Kelly Michelson Collaborate on NSF Science and Technology Center at Northwestern University

Two physician-scientists from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute will team up with researchers from around the country as members of a new U.S. National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center dedicated to identifying ways to understand cell function and develop innovative ways to prevent and reverse declines in it. 

Kyle MacQuarrie, MD, PhD, Attending Physician in Hematology, Oncology, Neuro-Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation at Lurie Children’s and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, will contribute his expertise studying chromatin and genomic organization to the research. Kelly N. Michelson, MD, MPH, Attending Physician in Critical Care at Lurie Children’s and Director of the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities at Feinberg School, will co-lead the ethics arm of the new center. Dr. Michelson is also the Julia and David Uihlein Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities at Feinberg School of Medicine. 

The NSF awarded Northwestern University $30 million over five years to establish the Center for Genome Intelligence Engineering (GENIE), which will be led by biomedical engineer Vadim Backman, PhD, MS, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Medicine (Hematology/Oncology), and Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at Feinberg School of Medicine. GENIE will bring together experts in medicine, engineering, biology, physics, ethics, and artificial intelligence to study how DNA’s three-dimensional structure helps determine each cell’s function and identity and investigate ways to physically reshape the structure. The new knowledge generated by the research can lead to ways to help cells and tissues withstand damage, restore lost function, and regenerate tissues and may one day be used to develop new treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and cardiovascular disease. The center will also train students and early-career researchers.