The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology

The Beckman Institute focuses on three themes: molecular science and engineering, integrative imaging, and intelligent systems.

Its core research facilities include the Biomedical Imaging Center and the Imaging Technology Group (ITG), which also includes Beckman's Microscopy Suite and Visualization Laboratory.

Researchers Hee Jung Chung and Jennifer Walters stand together for photo in Chung Lab.

MCB team identifies compound with potent antiseizure effects

Researchers studying epileptic seizures of the temporal lobe – the most common type of epilepsy – discovered a compound that reduces seizures in the hippocampus, a brain region where many such seizures originate. The compound, known as TC-2153, lessened the severity of seizures in mice. The...
Image of a brain scan

Carle Illinois research reveals new insight into links between Alzheimer's Disease and hearing loss

Researchers at Carle Illinois College of Medicine have uncovered new evidence about hearing loss in patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). It pinpoints unexpected areas of brain shrinkage in AD patients with hearing loss. The work could eventually lead to earlier intervention and new treatment...
Wide exterior shot of the Beckman Institute on a summer day.

Circadian rhythm and the blood-brain barrier

Beckman faculty members Martha Gillette and Hyunjoon Kong received an NIH/DOD grant to study how circadian rhythm affects the blood-brain barrier’s permeability to small molecules and susceptibility to blood leakage. Their team will design a microfluidics-based chip from human stem cells to model...
Deborah Leckband smiles for camera while sitting at workspace in lab.

'Molecular Velcro' enables tissues to sense, react to mechanical force

The Velcro-like cellular proteins that hold cells and tissues together also perform critical functions when they experience increased tension. A new University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study observed that when tugged upon in a controlled manner, these proteins – called cadherins – communicate...
Headshot of Madeleine Subach

Beckman Institute Student Researcher Spotlight: Madeleine Subach

From attending biology lectures to working in a lab full of researchers, this month's featured student researcher at Beckman Institute, Madeleine Subach, is driven to investigate issues in human tissue cell signaling. Her research contributes to the improvement of recovery methods following muscle...
Illinois postdoctoral researcher Eung Chang Kim (seated left) and professor Hee Jung Chung (standing right) in Chung Lab.

Gene mutation leads to epileptic encephalopathy symptoms, neuron death in mice

Mice with a genetic mutation that’s been observed in patients with epileptic encephalopathy, a severe form of congenital epilepsy, exhibit not only the seizure, developmental and behavioral symptoms of the disorder, but also neural degeneration and inflammation in the brain, University of Illinois...
Closeup of the American flag.

Giving back: Undergrad researcher, veterans work together to study brain health

This Veterans Day, student researcher Elizabeth Spurlock reflects on her experience investigating issues related to brain health in populations who have served. Her research is conducted in partnership with the Beckman Institute and the Chez Veteran Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-...
Illustration of brain

Seeing is believing: Image of primary visual cortex in a mouse wins second place in NIH research image contest

Congratulations to the Tajkhorshid lab and collaborators who created a stunning research image recently highlighted by the National Institutes of Health.
Pill capsules in blue and white

Scientists discover how antibiotics penetrate Gram-negative bacterial cell walls

In a study reported in the journal Chemical Science, researchers developed a new method to determine how antibiotics with specific chemical properties thread their way through tiny pores in the otherwise impenetrable cell envelopes of Gram-negative bacteria.
From left, chemistry professor Stanislav Rubakhin, molecular and integrative physiology (MIP) graduate research assistant Dan Castro, chemistry professor and MIP affiliate Jonathan Sweedler, chemistry professor Elena Romanova and bioengineering graduate research assistant Yuxuan Richard Xie.

New analytical technique helps researchers spot subtle differences in subcellular chemistry

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can now rapidly isolate and chemically characterize individual organelles within cells. The new technique tests the limits of analytical chemistry and rapidly reveals the chemical composition of organelles that control biological growth,...