Jerzy O. Szablowski is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University and a core member of the Neuroengineering Initiative. His research focuses on noninvasive neuroengineering, bridging the gap between molecular biology and hardware tools to monitor and control the living brain. He is currently developing mechanism-agnostic drug delivery platforms and pioneered the creation of Released Markers of Activity (RMA) that enable spatially targeted, circuit-specific readout of gene expression with 5 microliters (a single drop) of blood. As the co-founder and CEO of Imprint Bio, he translates these deep-tech platforms into therapeutic applications for nervous system disorders. His laboratory’s research is supported by a robust portfolio of funding, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) New Innovator Award (DP2, R01, R21), Sloan Research Fellowship, ARIA, the Packard Fellowship, and the DARPA Young Faculty Award. He received his Ph.D. in Bioengineering and postdoctoral training in chemical engineering and noninvasive neuromodulation at Caltech, following a B.Sc. in Biological Engineering from MIT.

Research Statement

The Szablowski Lab develops noninvasive neurotechnologies to monitor and control the living brain. Operating at the intersection of synthetic biology and hardware, we engineer deep-tech platforms - including mechanism-agnostic drug discovery to find drugs for disorders we cannot understand, Released Markers of Activity (RMA) to monitor the brain state with a blood test, and molecular technologies for focused ultrasound to safely bypass the blood-brain barrier and develop platform therapies. In our work we aim to map neural circuit function with unprecedented precision and translate these discoveries into platform therapies - both for the brain and beyond.​