URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Fall_2019_Melissa-McCarthy

To add to the impressive collection of achievements

and awards to his team, Dwyer recently won the 2019 Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies SciX Innovation Award for his nanopore sensing technology.

Custom instrument parts such as fluid handling components can be rapidly prototyped in-house using a 3D printer.

terms of the expertise that’s here, and with proper laboratory facilities for this delicate research to be possible at all.” Dwyer acknowledges his own attraction to novel technologies as a motivator in his work, but he notes that, ultimately, it is people and creative ideas that drive technological advancements. He credits his collaborators, and especially the graduate and undergraduate students whom he has mentored, with the continued success of nanopore technology research at the University. “One of the interesting things about this is that the technology and the science are often strong drivers,” says Dwyer. “They’re flashy and that’s what interests people, but there’s also a human side to the story. I am not just referring to a focus on human health, but rather that all of this results from the inventiveness, curiosity and creativity of the people engaged in this work.” Whether he’s analyzing molecules in pharmaceutical drugs or molecules present in aquatic environments, Dwyer aims to determine the types of molecules present, the quantity, and nature of these molecules, and how they interact with each other as well as their interactions with the human body’s microbiome. “This is the discovery mission of the University,” Dwyer says. “Every time we do an experiment with a new molecule, it’s a new day for discovery.”

Recently, his team also received funding from the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC), which distributes grants to scientific research that addresses the needs — including economic needs — of Rhode Island. To add to the impressive collection of achievements and awards to his team, Dwyer recently won the 2019 Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies SciX Innovation Award for his nanopore sensing technology. Dwyer says a strength of URI is the breadth and richness of research taking place, with a college of engineering, college of pharmacy, college of the environment and life sciences, a graduate school of oceanography, and a state-of- the-art facility on campus where he conducts his research. “There’s a tremendous amount of expertise on campus,” he says. “URI has the capabilities that I was looking for in

Benchtop control electronics for sensing single molecules using nanopores.

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