Nia and Mizgerd Receive Kilachand Fund Award To Advance Crystal Rib Cage

(From left) Hariri Faculty Affiliate, Assistant Professor Hadi Nia (BME, MSE), and BU Pulmonary Center Director Joseph Mizgerd. Photo by Cydney Scott for Boston University Photography

Hariri Faculty Affiliate, Assistant Professor Hadi Nia (BME, MSE), and BU Pulmonary Center Director Joseph Mizgerd received a 2023 Rajen Kilachand Fund for Integrated Life Sciences & Engineering award to advance development of the crystal rib cage, an innovation developed in the Nia Lab that allows probing real-time lung function at cellular resolution.

The researchers will use Crystal Ribcage to probe the immune response in the lungs against infectious microbes. They aim to investigate the mechanisms through which recovery from respiratory infections enhance immune defenses in the lungs against pathogens. They also seek to understand how the aging process disrupts specific elements of this immune response, potentially making elderly more susceptible to pneumonia. The project will receive $500,000 per year for up to three years, beginning October 2023.

Learn more about this year’s Kilachand awards in The Brink story here.