Rice’s Wiess School of Natural Sciences has launched two new research centers, Synthesis X Center (SynthX) and the Center for Nanoscale Imaging Sciences.
SynthX is dedicated to developing groundbreaking cancer drugs and technologies by fostering research collaborations between cancer treatment experts from the Texas Medical Center and Rice experts in organic chemistry, chemical biology and nanomaterial synthesis.
Directed by Han Xiao, associate professor of chemistry and CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research, SynthX is partnering with Baylor College of Medicine’s Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center to facilitate research leading to next-generation drugs and materials that can better prevent and detect cancer, improve the effectiveness of immunotherapies, reduce the long-term side effects of chemotherapy and better treat metastatic cancer.
The Center for Nanoscale Imaging Sciences aims to foster collaboration, inspire high-impact research, attract external funding and raise Rice’s national and international profile in nanoscale imaging, a growing interdisciplinary field that explores, visualizes and characterizes the world at the atomic and molecular level.
Directed by Anna-Karin Gustavsson, assistant professor of chemistry and CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research, the center plans to address outstanding challenges in nanoscale imaging, including big data, smart microscopes and multi-modal approaches. Interdisciplinary collaboration is a critical factor in research that pushes frontiers in nanoscale imaging, and the center will work to connect researchers who have common goals and complementary expertise across departments and schools.