Dear EMBRIOnic People,
Thanks to the Zartman Lab members and Magana Lab members for presenting research updates yesterday. You can access the videos and associated meeting documents on our shared Box account in the
All-Hands Meeting Recordings folder. We will be back on May 18
th for research presentations from Thrust 4 with the Gardner Lab, and Thrust 1 with the Kinzer-Ursem Lab + Evans Lab.
EMBRIO JOINT SYMPOSIUM + WORKSHOPS
CHICAGO CYTOSKELETON MEETING
The next
Chicago Cytoskeleton Meeting is coming up on Friday May 1st at Loyola University Chicago
Water Tower Campus. This includes selected trainee talks, keynote by Dr. Dyche Mullins, poster session, and social.
Please register and sign-up for a poster spot on the website.
Poster sign-ups are due next Wednesday, April 22nd. Note that registration is free.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Congrats to the Jayant Lab, and EMBRIO members Shulan Xiao and Krishna Jayant with co-authors on two recent publications highlighted here:
Blood-catalyzed n-doped polymers for reversible optical neural control. Science.
Samal S, Xiao S, Nelson S, Kolhe O, Khan HF, Habibi Matin M, Lee W-J, Ahmed M, Wang D, Wang T, Pikes T, N. Scott, A, Alejandra Rodriguez, J, R. Olson, M, Deng, Q, I. Parkinson, E, Rochet, JC, Jayant, K, and Mei, J. Blood-catalyzed
n-doped polymers for reversible optical neural control. Science. 2026;392(6793):eadu5500. DOI:10.1126/science.adu5500
Biology as a Fabrication Engine for Neural Interfaces
This work demonstrates that endogenous blood chemistry can catalyze the formation of functional n‑doped conducting polymers directly in living tissue, eliminating the need for rigid implants or exogenous catalysts. For EMBRIO, this represents a paradigm
shift toward bio‑assembled, self‑integrating materials as a foundational strategy for neural engineering.
Reversible, Nongenetic Optical Neuromodulation
The in situ–formed polymers enable millisecond‑scale, reversible optical suppression of neural activity without genetic modification. Neural control arises through thermo‑ionic shunting and altered ion channel excitability, highlighting a
soft, analog modality of neuromodulation aligned with EMBRIO’s emphasis on minimally invasive control of biological systems.
Scalable Pathway Toward Translational Bioelectronics
By leveraging ubiquitous biological components (blood, light) and avoiding permanent hardware, the platform offers a
generalizable and potentially scalable route to clinical neuromodulation. This directly supports EMBRIO’s mission to bridge
fundamental materials science with deployable bioelectronic medicine.
Mild focal cooling decouples dendrites to reconfigure cortical output.
Advanced Science
Dendrites as Primary Targets for Circuit Reconfiguration
The study shows that mild, focal cooling (~4 °C) selectively disrupts dendritic–somatic coupling—especially in apical tufts—without silencing neurons outright. This reframes neuromodulation as control over
subcellular computation, a key EMBRIO concept linking physics to function.
Thermal Gradients Enable Analog Control of Neural Output
Rather than acting as a global suppressor, cooling introduces graded, compartment‑specific changes in excitability, leading to reconfigured cortical output patterns. This establishes temperature as a
precision biophysical control variable, complementary to electrical or optical approaches championed by EMBRIO.
Non‑Destructive, Reversible Modulation of Brain Computation
The effects are rapid and reversible, preserving baseline circuit integrity while transiently altering information flow. For EMBRIO, this highlights
energy‑efficient, non‑destructive strategies to probe and control neural systems across scales—from dendrites to behavior.
Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University
Office: Hall for Discovery Learning and Research, Ste. 203
207 S. Martin Jischke Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47907
laddb@purdue.edu
