In Dean of the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago Nadya Mason's Tech Talk, she outlined how her school innovates by organizing research thematically and focusing on interdisciplinary approaches. She also shared how AI and machine learning are helping to advance vaccine R&D.
Dr. Nadya Mason is the Dean of the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago, which was established in 2011 as the university’s first school of engineering. As Dr. Mason explained it, “We aim to address global challenges and societal problems by translating advances in basic physics, chemistry, and biology,”
The Pritzker School is unique in that it does not have traditional departments but instead focuses on themes. As the thinking goes, a system of organization designed in the 19th century is ill-equipped to solve 21st century problems. Themes covered by Pritzker includes quantum engineering, biological engineering, immuno-engineering, and material systems for sustainability. Each field crosses over with the others, so the school is set up to allow for the cross-pollination of ideas.
“At Pritzker, we do not have departments. Instead, we focus on thematic areas on which our researchers can focus. We cannot solve modern problems with departments invented one hundred years ago.”
Dr. Nadya Mason
Dean of the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago
Dr. Mason recounted the Pritzker’s history, detailing its growth from a single individual to a thriving institution with 45 faculty members. “In the past couple of years alone, part of our collaborations and our work has contributed to over $1 billion in investment in the region.” Dr. Mason highlighted Pritzker’s relationship with Argonne National Laboratory, just 20 miles away, where over 20 professors are joint faculty members. This connection enhances research capabilities, allowing for shared resources and collaborative projects.
Dr. Mason also pointed out the importance of fostering an entrepreneurial spirit at the University of Chicago, which historically had a greater focus on academia over commercialization, as a way of ensuring that the work being done at the Pritzker School strengthens U.S. competitiveness.
One area the Pritzker School is having an impact is in immune-engineering. Atherosclerosis, for example, is a significant cause of cardiovascular-related deaths, and Pritzker scientists and engineers developed nanoparticles for RNA therapy that target plaque in arteries, effectively reducing inflammation. Vaccine science is also advancing under this framework. Novel vaccines for fighting cancer and delivering immunotherapies are showing promise, and AI-powered efforts to halt adverse vaccine reactions are underway. So-called “inverse vaccines,” those that condition a body’s immune system to accept something rather than reject it, have the potential to inhibit the immune responses that create conditions like celiac disease. Treatment combinations are also being examined at scale, accelerating the speed at which effective therapies with multiple components can be widely deployed.
The Pritzker School’s commitment to entrepreneurism is one of the attributes that makes it stand out at the University of Chicago. Companies attached to the school have raised over $1.2 billion, meaning that the innovations coming out of Pritzker have a viable way to make it to market. This has been helped by the involvement of the Polsky Center, the University of Chicago’s entrepreneurial arm, and will continue to attract talent to the school and increase its reputation as a premier center of innovation.
While the Pritzker School has done much to enhance Chicago’s innovation ecosystem, there is still much work to do. Compared to the coastal tech hubs, Chicago is still behind. But new investments in laboratory spaces in Fulton Market and Hyde Park aim to provide more space to innovators, and a new biomanufacturing center in Washington Park, in partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago, will bring new opportunities to the historically underdeveloped South Side.
Dr. Mason’s talk was helpful in understanding the transformative potential of interdisciplinary collaboration and investment in biotechnology. The Pritzker School model should be considered by other universities to address global challenges through innovation.