Andrew Smith

@DrCigol @JasonJournoDC I completely agree - this was the moment that I no longer fully identified with liberalism in pop culture. It seemed like from this moment forward it was completely acceptable to smugly dismiss all forms of conservatism as simply being dumb.

I used to like Jon Stewart, but in hindsight, ever since his Crossfire appearance, I view him as arguably one of the leading influences in degrading US political discourse. He normalized dismissive mockery amongst a people that used to pride themselves on open-mindedness. He deflects criticism as “it’s just a joke,” while people take him seriously. And he epitomizes pseudo-intellectualism: not using logic/evidence to determine his beliefs, but instead relies on trust in those he views as smart/moral. It’s a good strategy for non-thinkers, and one he exemplifies.

🚨NEW: Jon Stewart: "I’ve got people in my family that are to the right of Attila the Hun. And when people tell me, like, 'How can you platform that person on your show?' I go, 'I platform my uncle every f*cking Thanksgiving.'" "And by the way, I love him. He’s a three-dimensional human being who has qualities that I really admire — things about him." "And we’ve lost that. We’ve lost the ability to love people because we litmus test at every point, in every single moment." @DailyCaller

Forthcoming work by @MuhammadUIUC will describe how these new depots can maintain weight loss and glucose tolerance over long durations.

Our new editorial describes next-generation obesity treatments for long-term weight loss and improved metabolism with a single administration: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

Our lab is recruiting for a postdoctoral position in pharmacology and drug delivery engineering.academickeys.com/job/a7ylim1x

Our department @BIOENGatIL summarized the work here: bioengineering.illinois.edu/news/smith-nan…

Here is our just-published article on nanocrystals in Nature Synthesis. It describes a solution to the difficulty of using nanocrystals for biology and medicine. nature.com/articles/s4416…

(5) The uniformity and stability of nanocrystals from “alkoxy” reactions we hope will make these modern nanocrystals useful in life science and diagnostic applications where quality control is a necessity.

(4) This report describes nanocrystal syntheses in a solution that is neither water nor oil but instead made of “alkoxy” compounds that dissolve in both water and oils. High-tech nanocrystals are easily made and are immediately stable in water in a single step in large batches.

(3) This second step of “coating” involves attaching molecules to the nanocrystal surface and is problematic because the molecules eventually detach and the products deteriorate. A large subdiscipline of nanoscience has focused on coatings, but the steps are hard to scale up.

(2) However, most high-tech nanocrystals (such as quantum dots) from the nanotechnology revolution of the past decades are usually not made in water – they are made in oils. These nanocrystals require additional steps to make them compatible with water-based fluids of biology.

(1) Many nanocrystals are prepared in water which is the universal medium of cells, tissues, and blood – for decades these nanocrystals have been used successfully in medicine (for example, gold nanocrystals give the red/purple color to many at-home pregnancy tests).

@NatureSynthesis (4) Our report describes nanocrystal synthesis in a solution that is neither water nor oil but instead made of “alkoxy” compounds that dissolve in both oils and water. High-tech nanocrystals are easily made and are immediately stable in water in a single step in large batches.

Now online: Article by Suresh Sarkar, @AndrewSmithUIUC & co-workers Nanocrystal synthesis with alkoxy reagents for dispersion in polar and non-polar solvents nature.com/articles/s4416… ($)

@BaoPhuongLe @yeo_lab @KrisKilian @nitin @SchmidtFellows @SchmidtFutures Amazing, Phuong! Congratulations yet again on a very well-deserved fellowship!!

Thrilled to begin 2025 as an NINDS and MOSAIC K99 fellow! Immense gratitude to all the incredible mentors who've shaped my academic journey @yeo_lab @AndrewSmithUIUC @KrisKilian @Nitin and to my supportive fellowship communities @SchmidtFellows @SchmidtFutures. #NIHMOSAIC

@NatureSynthesis @BIOENGatIL @IllinoisMatSE If anyone would like to use these materials, please contact me.

Now online: Article by Wonseok Lee & Andrew Smith @AndrewSmithUIUC @BIOENGatIL @IllinoisMatSE Interdiffusion-enhanced cation exchange for HgSe and HgCdSe nanocrystals with infrared bandgaps nature.com/articles/s4416… ($)

@NatureSynthesis @BIOENGatIL @IllinoisMatSE This paper describes high quantum yield, narrow bandwidth, tunable emitters in the infrared spectrum. Wonseok Lee homogeneously alloyed mercury cadmium chalcogenide nanocrystals which has been a goal of the quantum dot field for decades.

🎉Congratulations to the 2024 #CZBiohubCHI Investigators! The cohort of 48 of Chicago’s most creative and accomplished scientists and engineers will use multidisciplinary approaches to understand inflammation and the dysregulation of immune cells.