8th December 2023

Team to develop breathalyzer test for COVID, RSV, influenza A

Imagine the ability to quickly and accurately diagnose if you are infected with influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) or COVID-19 with one breath in less than a minute. A team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis is developing an inexpensive, handheld breathalyzer that could make rapid screening a step closer to reality.

Rajan Chakrabarty, the Harold D. Jolley Career Development associate professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering at the McKelvey School of

10th October 2023

The Artificial Intelligence Boom

A new world in artificial intelligence (AI) opened in the past year when OpenAI released ChatGPT, a large language model that scours the Internet for words in response to a question. Since then, similar programs and new technologies continue to be released while their developers call for government regulation and a six-month moratorium to slow things down, leaving many uncertain if the advances are beneficial or cause for concern.

We’re told that artificial intelligence will make our lives easi

30th June 2023

Air monitor can detect COVID-19 virus variants in about 5 minutes

Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses. By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in a room in about 5 minutes.

The inexpensive, proof-of-concept device could be used in hospitals and heal

Engineering Momentum • 26th January 2023

Improving women’s health with engineering

For decades, women’s health has been an afterthought. As recent as 1993, most testing in clinical trials was conducted on men, and female animals and cells were not required to be included in federally funded testing until 2016. This lack of research focused solely on women’s issues has trickle-down effects on women of all ages, from puberty through post-menopause. Maternal mortality rates are increasing in the U.S., particularly in Black and Native American women, who are three times more likel

Engineering Momentum • 1st April 2022

Innovation never stops

The startup culture in St. Louis has been strong since the early 2000s, particularly at Washington University in St. Louis, where many successful startups began or have an association, including Square, GiftAMeal, Varsity Tutors, Answers.com, Cardialen and Exegy. And it hasn’t slowed down: the venture capital firm M25 recently named St. Louis the fifth-best Midwest city for startups; St. Louis-based Arch Grants awarded 35 new startups with awards; and T-Rex awarded five $100,000 grants through i

1st December 2021

Early warning system model predicts deterioration of hospitalized cancer patients based on clinical data

About 9% of cancer patients experience complications while hospitalized that lead to a deterioration in their condition, a transfer to the intensive care unit or even death. A multi-disciplinary team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis is developing a machine-learning-based early warning system model to predict this deterioration and improve patient outcomes.

Chenyang Lu, the Fullgraf Professor in the McKelvey School of Engineering, with collaborators including Marin Kollef, MD

30th August 2019

Light-activated nanoheaters may control nerve cells, locust mind

The neurons in our brains are its basic computational units analogous to a computer transistor. They process information and send and receive messages to and from the rest of our bodies. Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis want to know if they can control certain neurons using nanotechnology to better understand behavior and disease.


Srikanth Singamaneni, professor of mechanical engineering & materials science, and Barani Raman, associate professor of biomedical engineering, both

McKelvey School of Engineering News • 1st June 2019

‘Hopeful technology’ could change detection, diagnosis of deadly ovarian cancer

Quing Zhu, professor of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering & Applied Science and of radiology, and a team of physicians and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine recently conducted a pilot study using co-registered photoacoustic tomography with ultrasound to evaluate ovarian tumors on 16 patients at the School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Results of the study are published online in Radiology.


"When ovarian cancer is detected at an early, localize