Ritu Raman
@rituraman.bsky.social
Eugene Bell Associate Prof at MIT • tissue engineering the neuromuscular system to restore mobility and power robots • RamanLab.mit.edu
We can now steer blood vessels with dynamic forces and even re-direct vessels as they're growing! Great MIT News feature on our new paper in PNAS, outlining how a chance encounter with @ardemp.bskyverified.social helped us identify the role of PIEZO1 in this process: news.mit.edu/2026/mit-eng...
Out today in PNAS: We show that dynamic "4D" forces can spatially pattern angiogenesis in a PIEZO1-dependent manner. Excitingly, changing force patterns over time enables redirecting sprouting trajectories, forming complex branched geometries: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... #TissueEngineering
Taking our first steps towards sequencing the extracellular matrix by “Intact and single-molecule analysis of heparan sulfate” from @phristov.bsky.social in the lab, in collaboration with Miten Jain's lab. "HS-nano-seq" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Honored to be featured in this special "early career innovators" issue of Bioengineering and Translational Medicine! Check out the collection curated by Elizabeth Nance here, highlighting our paper on high-throughput muscle exercise assays: aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Happy to share a new review: Functional Inclusion of RNA Biology in the Tethered Extracellular Matrix We discuss the emerging interface of RNA biology and the ECM. The way biology solved protein-HS interactions is very similar to RNA-protein! wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Meet the Raman Lab at the MPS World Summit in DC! We have a great lineup of talks featuring our #NAMs modeling human muscles, peripheral nerves, and vasculature for applications in disease modeling, therapeutic discovery, and biohybrid robotics. #TissueEngineering
Can we couple #AI & experimental science to accelerate the pace of discovery while preserving safety, reliability, and beneficial impact on human health? Check out our conversation w/ Google DeepMind Co-Scientist, featuring me pipetting at 39.5 weeks pregnant (!!!): www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSY_...
Interfacing #bioelectronics w/ soft tissues that dynamically move, grow, & change shape presents a complex mechanical challenge. Our new review highlights materials & structural design strategies for #biohybrid devices coupling electronics to engineered tissues: authors.elsevier.com/a/1n7Qg8MuOh...
Today was the first of its kind Symposium dedicated to #glycoRNAs and Cell Surface RNA biology. Tools and topics spanned cancer, immunology, and pathogenic infection - speaking to the growing excitement and impact of thinking about RNA at the interface between cells!
New preprint! Biohybrid #robots powered by skeletal muscle have historically relied on 3D tissue. Here we show that 2D skeletal muscle thin films can be 20X more efficient than their 3D counterparts - producing significantly larger forces from smaller tissue volumes: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Out today in Cell Biomaterials: Limb-On-A-Chip! We present a simple + scalable 1-step method for fabricating all-hydrogel chips, yielding neuromuscular co-cultures compatible with multiscale functional readouts: www.cell.com/cell-biomate... @cp-cellbiomat.bsky.social #TissueEngineering
Excited to see our MagMix platform on the cover of Device! MagMix is a modular, compact, material-agnostic in situ mixing platform for 3D bioprinters that actively + safely homogenizes cell-laden bioinks with no printer hardware/software mods: www.cell.com/device/fullt... @cellpress.bsky.social
The big reveal… so proud of Sonika Kohli and Angel Bu for winning a Koch Institute Image Award for their piece titled “Repairing Lost Connections” featuring our lab’s work on treating nerve injuries. Check it out for yourself by visiting the public galleries at the MIT Koch Institute!
We made the front cover of Advanced Science with our paper on using tendons to make muscle-powered robots stronger! Happy to be part of an exciting special issue on "Sustainable Materials in Soft Robotics and Electronics". Check out our paper here: doi.org/10.1002/advs... #biofabrication #robotics
Happy to contribute to this Science Robotics perspective led by Raman Lab postdoc Dr. Ronald Heisser. We highlight how fostering relationships between the disability and soft #robotics communities could spark innovations that benefit society: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
The codevelopment of soft robotics and assistive technology
Fostering relationships between the disability and soft robotics communities will spark innovations that could benefit all.
science.org
Great MIT News feature on how our lab is tackling one of the most significant challenges in 3D #bioprinting: gravity-driven cell sedimentation! Our modular platform prevents clogged nozzles + uneven cell distribution, enabling fabrication of large-scale viable tissues: news.mit.edu/2026/magneti...
Magnetic mixer improves 3D bioprinting
A new approach developed at MIT aims to solve a core limitation in 3D bioprinting, by actively preventing cell sedimentation within bioinks, allowing for more reliable and biologically consistent 3D p...
news.mit.edu
New #3Dbioprinting paper out today in Device @cellpress.bsky.social! Presenting MagMix: a compact modular platform for active in situ bioink mixing during bioprinting. MagMix uses a magnetic propellor to prevent cell settling, enabling consistent fabrication of large tissues: doi.org/10.1016/j.de...
Out today in Nature Electronics: we share our perspective on how instrumenting biohybrid robots with onboard #bioelectronics capable of integrated sensing, control, and power can enable real-world deployment of muscle-powered machines. www.nature.com/articles/s41... #Robotics #TissueEngineering
Using electronics to build biohybrid robots with physical intelligence - Nature Electronics
Biohybrid robots, which rely on living muscles to drive force generation, could be of use in applications ranging from microsurgery to unmanned exploration. But the development of untethered and auton...
nature.com
Out today in Nature - our collaborative work with Ryan Flynn's lab, led by Dr. Peiyuan Chai with support from Dr. @sinakheiri.bsky.social and @shahjess.bsky.social from our group. Exciting findings showcasing how glycoRNAs can modulate angiogenesis!
Ryan Flynn@raflynn5.bsky.social · 6mo agoScience update from my postdoc Peiyuan Chai - his work “glycoRNA complexed with heparan sulfate regulates VEGF-A signaling” is now published @nature.com uncovering a new layer or glycoRNA-regulation of growth factor mediated control physiological processes rdcu.be/e1bBX
January marks 5 years of the Flynn Lab - it has been an exciting start and I’ve been lucky to have a great set of lab members that have been working with me to uncover new aspects of glycoRNAs and cell surface RNA biology… Now as an Associate Professor! @harvard.edu @bostonchildrens.bsky.social
So happy that our paper on high-resolution patterning of muscle tissues with “STAMP” made it to the “Most Popular” collection in Biomaterials Science! Particularly rewarding to see many other labs adapt + use STAMP in the past year: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a... #myoblue #TissueEngineering #muscle
Leveraging microtopography to pattern multi-oriented muscle actuators
Engineering skeletal muscle tissue with precisely defined alignment is of significant importance for applications ranging from drug screening to biohybrid robotics. Aligning 2D contractile muscle mono...
pubs.rsc.org
So proud of Dr. Tamara Rossy from our lab for presenting her exciting research as one of the BMES CMBE postdoc awardees! Our muscles never skip leg day 💪🏽 @bmes-cmbe.bsky.social #myoblue
@bmes-cmbe.bsky.social · 7mo ago🏋️♀️🧬 Engineered muscle hits the gym. Tamara Rossy, Postdoctoral Travel Awardee, shares approaches to enhance the maturity of human iPSC-derived skeletal muscle. Because functional muscle doesn’t skip leg day. 💪 #CMBE2026
Wrapping up an incredible 2025 with the Raman Lab squad - we flexed our muscles and pumped out 14 exciting papers, preprints, and reviews! Stay tuned for lots more to come in 2026 from this dynamic team 💪🏽 ramanlab.mit.edu/publications/ #myoblue
And now it's time without further ado for my 12th Annual Top 10 Muscle Papers of the Year countdown. This year, we had over 70 votes for the top muscle papers of 2025. Thank you to all participants and authors for an exciting year of muscle biology. #Myoblue
Excited to share our new paper on high-throughput #optogenetic #exercise assays for tissue engineered skeletal muscle! We leverage a multi-well stimulation apparatus to study how exercise regimen of various durations + frequencies impact muscle gene expression: doi.org/10.1002/btm2... #myoblue
Download our large database of postdoc fellowships in all fields of research. Database freely available to all; 281 fellowships. Download here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...
Your body has tendons, your robots should too! Our new paper in Advanced Science highlights how adding tendons to muscle-powered “biohybrid” robots makes them 11X stronger. Check out this great MIT News feature of our work: news.mit.edu/2025/artific... #biohybrid #robotics #biomaterials
Want to make your biohybrid robots *11X* more powerful? Add tendons! The latest story from our lab gives muscle actuators a *major design upgrade* by tissue engineering modular "muscle-tendon units" that mimic musculoskeletal architectures in nature: advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Preprint alert: Our latest study shows that "4D" force patterning enables spatial control of angiogenesis! Check out how we use Magnetic Matrix Actuation to precisely fabricate of 3D microvascular networks: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Led by @sinakheiri.bsky.social @shahjess.bsky.social!