Shields

Scientists develop method to build tiny custom microrobots

Susan Glairon — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 23:04:14 +0000

Scientists develop method to build tiny custom microrobots Susan Glairon Mon, 07/07/2025 - 17:04

Photo caption: Stencil printed with a CU-shaped cutout for controllably depositing metal onto the particle that is underneath

Researchers at the �鶹��Ѱ�� have created a new way to build and control tiny particles that can move and work like microscopic robots, offering a powerful tool with applications in biomedical and environmental research.

The study, published in Nature Communications, describes a new method of fabrication that combines high-precision 3D printing, called two-photon lithography, with a microstenciling technique. The team prints both the particle and its stencil together, then deposits a thin layer of metal, such as gold, platinum or cobalt through the stencil’s openings. When the stencil is removed, a metal patch remains on the particle.

Kendra Kreienbrink , a materials science and engineering
PhD student in the Shields Lab, is the paper's first author.

The particles, invisible to the naked eye, can be made in almost any shape and patterned with surface patches as small as 0.2 microns — more than 500 times thinner than a human hair. The metal patches guide how the particles move when exposed to electric or magnetic fields, or chemical gradients.

“The shape of surface patches gives particles information about where to go,” said Assistant Professor Wyatt Shields, one of the paper’s authors. “We've not had good methods to control the shape of those patches until now.”

With this control, these particles could potentially help improve how drugs spread through human organs, improving the drug’s overall effectiveness, or aid in the removal of pollutants from contaminated environments.

The research team includes first author Kendra Kreienbrink, a materials science and engineering PhD student in the Shields Lab, along with two undergraduate students: Zoe Cruse, majoring in chemical and biological engineering and computer science, and Alisha Kumari, in biomedical engineering.

“This paper not only represents the exciting things that can be accomplished in active particles and microrobots using non-conventional microfabrication,” Shields said, “but that the inclusion and mentorship of undergrads early in research can lead to innovative outcomes.”

The tiny particles could potentially help enhance drug distribution in human organs, improving the drug’s overall effectiveness, or aid in removing pollutants from contaminated environments.

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New device could deliver bedside blood test results in an hour

Susan Glairon — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 19:34:32 +0000

New device could deliver bedside blood test results in an hour Susan Glairon Wed, 10/16/2024 - 13:34

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder researchers are developing a handheld device that could transform blood testing. Instead of needles and long waits for lab results, this sound-based system delivers accurate results in an hour from just a finger prick.

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Wyatt Shields selected as Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar

Anonymous — Fri, 10 May 2024 21:45:47 +0000

Wyatt Shields selected as Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/10/2024 - 15:45

Susan Glairon

Assistant Professor Wyatt Shields presents at the 2023 Packard Fellows retreat.

Wyatt Shields has been honored with a 2024 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar award for his contributions to teaching and research on medical microrobots, self-propelled miniature robots that one day might deliver prescription drugs to hard-to-reach places inside the human body.

PhD Student Nicole Day presents her research to Northglenn High School Students at the "Reverse Science Fair," held on Nov. 27, 2023. Credit: Byron Reed, 9News.

Microrobot seen under a scanning electron microscope.
(Credit: Shields Lab)

Eighteen Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholars were selected for 2024, and each awardee will receive an unrestricted grant of $100,000.

"I am honored to join an impressive community of scholars who are committed to research excellence and teaching at the highest levels, reflecting the core values we share at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder,” said Shields, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the �鶹��Ѱ��.

According to the foundation, award recipients “are within the first five years of their academic careers, have each created an outstanding independent body of scholarship and are deeply committed to education.”

Funds from this award will support new trainees in the Shields Lab to advance work on synthetic and living microrobots that are capable of performing next-generation medical tasks. Synthetic microrobots are manufactured from biocompatible materials to move or change shape in response to stimulation from ultrasound or magnetic fields. In contrast, living microrobots comprise nanoparticles that attach to—and co-opt—immune cells for enhanced delivery to diseased tissues for medical treatments.

The microrobots may one day enhance the delivery of drugs to diseased tissues within the body or inform treatment decisions; instead of cutting into the patient, the robots could enter the body through a pill or an injection and undergo remote stimulation.

Shields added that teaching takes many forms, including classroom pedagogy, mentoring undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the lab and engaging in community outreach.

“The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation value all of these dimensions of teaching,” he said.

Shields plans to use this award to connect academic research to classroom teaching and to engage the broader public. To this end, Shields and Alex Rose from �鶹��Ѱ��Science Discovery created the first annual "Reverse Science Fair" last year. This event challenges graduate students to effectively communicate their research to local high school students in an engaging and understandable manner.

“The earlier we offer these opportunities for high school students to discover the diversity of scientific fields and careers out there, the better,” Rose said.

Shields has won numerous awards, including a Packard Foundation Fellowship in Science and Engineering, a Pew Biomedical Scholar award, an NSF CAREER award, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program award and a National Institute of Health Maximizing Investigators' Research award.

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Reverse Science Fair puts �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder grad students to the test

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:00:17 +0000

Reverse Science Fair puts �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder grad students to the test Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/28/2023 - 10:00

Under his NSF Career Award, Assistant Professor Wyatt Shields developed a "reverse science fair" in partnership with �鶹��Ѱ��Science Discovery. Graduate students presented their research, and high school students served as the judges.

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PhD student receives prestigious Acta Student Award

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 18:58:20 +0000

PhD student receives prestigious Acta Student Award Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 07/13/2023 - 12:58

Susan Glairon

Nicole Day has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Acta Student Award for her primary contribution to the manuscript titled, “Tissue-adhesive hydrogel for multimodal drug release to immune cells in skin,” published in the September 2022 edition of Acta Biomaterialia.

Day is a rising fifth-year chemical and biological engineering PhD student in �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder’s Shields Lab, where her research focuses on developing particle-based systems to improve the delivery of cancer immunotherapies. The goal of her work is to enhance the effectiveness of current treatments while minimizing adverse side effects by precisely controlling the timing and targeted delivery sites of these therapies.

“This award is an exciting honor because it recognizes more than the impact of my research, but also looks comprehensively at my graduate career,” Day said. “Additionally, the work we are doing is extremely important; it’s exciting to be recognized from among a pool of applicants across many disciplines.”

Day was the sole recipient for Acta Biomaterialia’s prestigious award, which includes a $2,000 prize. The award will be presented to her during the Acta Symposium at the TMS 2024 Annual meeting & Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in March. She has also been invited to present a poster during the reception.

Assistant Professor Wyatt Shields said the award acknowledges both the excellence of Nicole’s work as well as her article.

“This award builds on Nicole's already impressive list of accomplishments and is a testament to her ingenuity, rigorousness and resolve,” Shields said.

Acta Biomaterialia is an international journal that publishes peer-reviewed original research reports, review papers and communications within the broad field of biomaterials science. The journal emphasizes the relationship between biomaterial structure and function at various length scales.

Nicole Day, a rising fifth-year chemical and biological engineering PhD student in the Shields Lab, concentrates on advancing particle-based systems to enhance the delivery of cancer immunotherapies.

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Wyatt Shields selected to participate in NAE's Frontiers of Engineering symposium

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 20:55:24 +0000

Wyatt Shields selected to participate in NAE's Frontiers of Engineering symposium Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/21/2023 - 14:55

Assistant Professor Wyatt Shields has been selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering's Grainger Foundation Frontiers of Engineering 2023 Symposium. Engineers who are performing exceptional research and technical work in a variety of disciplines will come together for the two-and-a-half-day event. The participants — from industry, academia, and government — were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations.

The symposium will be hosted by the �鶹��Ѱ��, Sept. 10-13, 2023.

Since the program’s inception in 1995, more than 5,000 early-career engineers have participated in previous symposia, many of whom have gone on to become national leaders in the engineering community.

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These tiny, medical robots could one day travel through your body

Anonymous — Thu, 25 May 2023 14:23:26 +0000

These tiny, medical robots could one day travel through your body Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/25/2023 - 08:23

A team of �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder engineers has designed a new class of tiny, self-propelled robots that can zip through liquid at incredible speeds—and may one day even deliver prescription drugs to hard-to-reach places inside the human body. ChBE co-authors of the new study include Jin Lee, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher; Assistant Professor Wyatt Shields; Assistant Professor Ankur Gupta; and graduate students Ritu Raj, (Shields and Gupta groups), Cooper Thome (Shields Group) and Nicole Day (Shields Group).

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Wyatt Shields to receive $1.7 million award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 22:25:01 +0000

Wyatt Shields to receive $1.7 million award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/19/2022 - 15:25

Assistant Professor Wyatt Shields of chemical and biological engineering and Ivana Yang from �鶹��Ѱ��Anschutz received a five-year National Institute of General Medical Sciences/NIH/DHHS award with an anticipated funding amount of $1.7 million for “Adoptive Macrophage Transfers for Nanoparticle Delivery."

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�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder’s Wyatt Shields wins 2022 Packard Fellowship for microscale robotics

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 17:03:37 +0000

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder’s Wyatt Shields wins 2022 Packard Fellowship for microscale robotics Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/19/2022 - 11:03

Susan Glairon

In a banner year that has included receiving five distinguished research awards, Wyatt Shields, assistant professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, has been awarded one of the nation’s largest and most prestigious awards for young investigators: a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

The award honors the Shields Lab’s research to develop tiny particles that address large medical challenges, such as drug delivery and disease monitoring. Shields’ team builds microrobots—too small to be detectable by the human eye— to create small-scale systems that perform these sophisticated tasks with relative ease.

“Being named a Packard Fellow is a huge honor,” Shields said. “I am humbled to be in the company of great scientists and leaders that I have looked up to my entire career.”

Only 20 young investigators win a Packard Fellowship each year. Previous winners have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, the Fields Medal, MacArthur Fellowship and elections to the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.

This year Shields received four other prestigious awards including a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award; Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program award; Pew Biomedical Scholars award; and an NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) (R35).

“I have never seen a faculty member get off to a more impressive start than Wyatt," said Professor Will Medlin, department chair of Chemical and Biological Engineering. "Being named a Packard Fellow is another milestone in the long list of highly competitive awards he received this year. It demonstrates the impact and excitement of his research accomplishments in microscale robotics."

Shields is �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder’s 20th and the College of Engineering and Applied Science’s fourth Packard Fellowship winner, alongside the college’s most recent winner, Christoph Keplinger, an associate professor of mechanical engineering who won the award in 2017. Since 1988, the Packard Foundation has awarded $481 million to support 675 scientists and engineers from 54 national universities.

Each 2022 fellow will receive a grant of $875,000 to pursue their research. Shields’ award will support his lab for the next five years to focus its efforts on building microrobots and testing their use on challenging biomedical problems, such as navigating tortuous environments, swimming through non-Newtonian fluids and treating diseased tissues.

Wyatt Shields

Shields says microscale robots may serve “as one of the greatest advancements of this century,” but that they are cumbersome to fabricate. He says that making small robots from discrete building blocks “gives us a new way to think about robotics at the micrometer-scale.” Instead of fabricating complex devices from the “top-down” using a single block of material, his team will manufacture programmable machines from the “bottom-up,” by assembling robots from smaller pieces using magnetic fields, which may open new doors in terms of scale-up, manufacturing and application.

As a Packard Fellow, Shields will also be invited to an annual conference in September in Colorado Springs to meet with other fellows, as well as the advisory panel and members of the foundation’s board of trustees.

“I am excited to freely pursue bold ideas with the Packard Foundation’s support,” Shields said. “This award would not have been possible without the support of my outstanding students and colleagues at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder.”

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Fighting “the bends”: Shields receives Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Award for decompression sickness study

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Fighting “the bends”: Shields receives Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Award for decompression sickness study Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/07/2022 - 00:00

Jonathan Raab

Shields

Assistant Professor C. Wyatt Shields IV is a recipient of a 2022 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program Award for his proposal “Mapping Immune Cell Responses to High Pressures in Decompression Illness.” He is among 32 researchers nationwide selected to receive funding for conducting “innovative scientific research that will benefit the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps” according to the ONR.

The U.S. Navy has an ongoing interest in studying decompression sickness, which is often referred to as “the bends.” Shields and his group seek to understand how immune cells in human lungs respond to extreme diving conditions to learn more about the origins of this affliction.

“As divers descend, increased gas pressure within the lungs leads to increased dissolved oxygen and nitrogen in the bloodstream, affecting the biochemistry of alveolar cells,” Shields said. “Our research aims to understand how alveolar immune cells respond to extreme environmental factors associated with deep sea diving as a step toward discovering the potential etiology of decompression sickness.”

The lab group is currently developing a “lung-on-a-chip" device as a model system that replicates the physiological conditions of human lungs experiencing high pressure loads. This work requires cross-disciplinary collaboration with human health researchers, including Professor Ivana Yang at �鶹��Ѱ��Anschutz, who will help identify genes that regulate cellular responses to these environmental factors through epigenomic and transcriptomic screens on monocytes.

The first phase of research is devoted to building the lung-on-a-chip devices, with initial results expected by the second year of the three-year project.

NSF CAREER Award winner

Shields recently received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for his research into biosensing, which is part of his outreach and mentorship program at Northglenn High School.

Assistant Professor C. Wyatt Shields IV is the recipient of a 2022 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program Award for his proposal “Mapping Immune Cell Responses to High Pressures in Decompression Illness.”

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Shields

Scientists develop method to build tiny custom microrobots

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New device could deliver bedside blood test results in an hour

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Wyatt Shields selected as Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar

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Reverse Science Fair puts �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder grad students to the test

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PhD student receives prestigious Acta Student Award

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Wyatt Shields selected to participate in NAE's Frontiers of Engineering symposium

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These tiny, medical robots could one day travel through your body

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Wyatt Shields to receive $1.7 million award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences

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�鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder’s Wyatt Shields wins 2022 Packard Fellowship for microscale robotics

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Fighting “the bends”: Shields receives Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Award for decompression sickness study

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Reverse Science Fair puts �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder grad students to the test

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder’s Wyatt Shields wins 2022 Packard Fellowship for microscale robotics