One of NIST’s Most Prolific Inventors Is Also Our Director — and She’s Still an Inventor at Heart

Earlier than she was the director of NIST, Laurie E. Locascio invented supplies that make us more healthy. 

One space of focus for her analysis was microfluidics. Microfluidics — the science of shifting liquids by small areas — is a crucial a part of medical therapy and vaccine improvement. The units Locascio and her colleagues created helped pave the best way for the analysis that introduced us the COVID-19 vaccines (and lots of different vaccines which are at present in improvement). 

Locascio additionally helped invent new approaches to drugs and vaccines utilizing lipid nanoparticles, that are fatty “envelopes” that may ship RNA or different medicines to our cells. 

In honor of National Inventors Month, the Taking Measure weblog requested Locascio about her background as an inventor and what makes NIST a house for innovation. 

How did you get into bioengineering? What did you’re keen on about it?

I acquired into bioengineering circuitously. I used to be a chemistry main in school, and I began taking some biology and biochemistry programs. I fell in love with that side of chemistry, leaning extra towards the well being care space. 

After I was on the lookout for a graduate college, I discovered there was a really new area at the moment known as bioengineering. There have been solely a few graduate packages within the U.S. The College of Utah was creating the primary synthetic coronary heart. So, I made a decision to go there, and it was a extremely enjoyable area I had by no means heard about earlier than as a result of it was so new. 

I used to be employed at NIST proper after that. They have been seeking to rent some researchers in bioscience and bioengineering on the time, so I got here to NIST and began a program right here. 

Are you able to describe a few of your innovations and their function in science and bioengineering?

I had a extremely prolific, great, energetic and various group of researchers in my laboratory round 2000. There was a lot vitality and so many concepts. That’s when most of my innovations have been born, out of the collaboration with such an important group of individuals. 

One of many innovations with Wyatt Vreeland, Michael Gaitan, Andreas Jahn and Joseph Reiner was across the improvement and formulation of recent therapeutics utilizing lipid nanoparticles. So, it was a lipid nanoparticle formulation. 

That turned out to be actually essential as a result of that’s how the COVID-19 vaccines have been created, utilizing that method to the formulation of these therapies. Among the early devices for making the COVID-19 vaccines have been based mostly on among the patents we had developed right here at NIST. 

I additionally had lots of early patents across the improvement of polymer microfluidics. Microfluidics was a really younger matter within the late Nineteen Nineties. Our group acquired into microfluidics at a time after they have been principally being developed in silicon or glass. 

We determined we have been going to make them cheaper and extra disposable as a result of the medical area wanted cheaper approaches to therapies. We began working within the area of polymer microfluidics, and it actually took off. A number of the early patents with David Ross, Tim Johnson, Michael Gaitan and lots of others have been on the event of microfluidics. Right this moment, the most typical microfluidic units utilized in drugs are made in polymers and never glass. We have been one of many first to do this. 

What’s the invention you’re most happy with?

I’ve 12 patents, and so they’re all my favorites for various causes. 

Along with the lipid microfluidics formulation, one other invention I labored on was finding out chemotaxis with Javier Atencia. That’s mainly finding out the migration of dwelling cells towards a chemical attractant. Javier spun off an organization based mostly on these patents. The expertise seems to be for the presence of micro organism in meals. That was additionally a extremely thrilling time in my profession.

I believe among the very basic research of chemical separations in microfluidic methods with David Ross have been enjoyable initiatives, too. 

What are a few of your favourite elements of the invention course of?

I like being an inventor! It feeds my soul. The thought is that you just sit in a room and brainstorm with a bunch of supersmart people who find themselves all working towards determining what the subsequent nice thought is. That’s a lot enjoyable. 

The onerous half is making an attempt to make it occur within the laboratory. That takes lots of perseverance. While you lastly get right here, and also you suppose, “I believe we’ve figured this one out.” These are nice moments. The primary brainstorming after which the last word “we did it” second are the 2 great elements of being an inventor. 

NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio on Being a Bench Scientist at NIST

NIST is house to lots of inventors. What makes this group so supportive of innovation?

I believe we have now among the smartest, most artistic researchers right here that I’ve ever met.

While you’re in academia, it’s important to write proposals to feed your analysis. Right here, our consultants have most of that analysis funding constructed into our finances, and that hopefully provides them some freedom to discover, to paint exterior the strains, to suppose creatively. 

How did being an inventor affect you?

These artistic years when most of my innovations have been born have been among the most enjoyable and thrilling occasions of my life. 

Years later, I nonetheless have a working checklist on my telephone of invention concepts that I give you. Sooner or later, I’ll make a few of these concepts occur. If I’m driving, I could get an thought about site visitors lights or easy methods to make a greater canine leash. I believe continuously about what I can create. 

After I was inventing within the lab, I acquired skilled to consider what would make folks’s lives higher. How can I create one thing to repair that downside? My mind continues to work that strategy to this present day. 

What recommendation would you give to aspiring inventors?

Encompass your self with actually sensible folks. The extra you collaborate, the extra good concepts will come into your mind. Listening to your individual analysis from different folks’s views can actually make you begin to suppose otherwise. And speak to folks in numerous disciplines. Allow them to open up your thoughts to new concepts.