UH experts join $10M initiative advancing biopharmaceutical manufacturing

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Richard Willson (center) and his team are working to develop a mix-and-read antibody measurement system that uses fluorescent materials to determine the amount of antibody present in a sample. Photo via UH.edu

An engineering project at the University of Houston has been selected to join a $10 million effort to bring biopharmaceutical manufacturing into the future. The National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL) chose the lab of Richard Willson, Huffington-Woestemeyer Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UH, as one of eight development projects that it will fund.

Willson and his team are working to develop a mix-and-read antibody measurement system that uses fluorescent materials to determine the amount of antibody present in a sample. The funding for this project is $200,000. This is the first grant UH has received from NIIMBL.

“In the course of the manufacturing processes, it's important to know the concentration of antibody in your sample and this measurement needs to be made many times in a typical manufacturing process,” said Willson in a press release. In the realm of fluorescents, he is also working to pioneer the use of glow sticks to detect biothreats for the U.S. Navy. His discoveries include a fluorescent material that emits one color of light when excited with another color of light.

Antibodies are what immune cells produce in response to alien substances such as bacteria and viruses. Lab-made antibodies, called monoclonal antibodies, have been in use since the 1980s. Antibody treatments now account for some of the world’s top-selling drugs.

“The nice thing about this reagent is that it becomes more fluorescent in the presence of antibodies, and you can determine the amount of antibody present in a sample by using it,” said Willson. “Along with our industrial partners Genentech, Agilent and Bristol Myers Squibb, we think that this might be a useful tool for people who do everything from growing the cells that make the antibodies, to determining concentrations of antibody before purifying them.”

Willson’s team also includes Katerina Kourentzi, research associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UH; Yan Chen, Agilent; Midori Greenwood-Goodwin, Genentech/Roche; and Mathura Raman, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

“One really distinguishing feature of this project is the tight coupling to industry,” said Kourentzi. “We got a lot of guidance from our industrial partners who volunteer to work with us through NIIMBL.” And through that, the technology could make it to the market in record time.

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At-home COVID-19 testing is about to get lit. Photo via Getty Images

UH researcher lights up at-home COVID-19 testing with glow-in-the-dark materials

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A Houston-based research team is tapping glow-in-the-dark materials to upgrade at-home rapid COVID-19 testing.

Researchers at the University of Houston have been rethinking the lateral flow assay (LFA) test used for at-home COVID-19 diagnostics. The traditional method indicates the sample's results with colored lines.

“We are making those lines glow-in-the-dark so that they are more detectable, so the sensitivity of the test is better,” says Richard Willson, a professor at the University of Houston, in a UH news release. He previously created a smartphone-based diagnostics app.

Willson's inspiration came from a familiar and nostalgic method — the glow-in-the-dark stars in a child's bedroom. In Willson's case, it was his daughter's bedroom, and within a few days his team of students and postdocs was designing a test featuring glowing nanoparticles made of phosphors.

The team evolved into a spin-off company called Clip Health, originally founded as Luminostics by two of the researchers. The operation is again evolving with new glowing applications.

“In this new development, there are two tricks. First, we use enzymes, proteins that catalyze reactions, to drive reactions that emit light, like a firefly. Second, we attached those light-emitting enzymes onto harmless virus particles, along with antibodies that bind to COVID proteins,” says Willson in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal Analyst.

The test now also can be read with a smartphone app. The group is also entertaining additional tests for other diseases.

“This technology can be used for detecting all kinds of other things, including flu and HIV, but also Ebola and biodefense agents, and maybe toxins and environmental contaminants and pesticides in food,” says Willson.

In addition to Willson, the original technology was explained in a paper with co-authors:

  • Katerina Kourentzi, University of Houston research associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering
  • Jacinta Conrad, Frank M. Tiller Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering,
  • UH researchers Maede Chabi, Binh Vu, Kristen Brosamer, Maxwell Smith, and Dimple Chavan

Researcher Richard Willson says he was inspired by the glow-in-the-dark scars on his daughter's bedroom ceiling. Photo via UH.edu

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Houston has the lowest inflation problem in the U.S., new study finds

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Despite the national inflation rate sitting at 3 percent as of September 2025, the impact of inflation on Houston and the surrounding area isn't as severe as the rest of the U.S., a new study has revealed.

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land ranked as the metro with the smallest inflation problem in the U.S. in WalletHub's October 2025 "Changes in Inflation by City" report.

The study tracked inflation changes for 23 major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) using Consumer Price Index data from the latest month available and compared to data from two months prior. The analysis also factored in inflation data from last year to analyze both short- and long-term inflation changes.

Compared to two months ago, the inflation rate in Houston fell by 0.1 percent, and local inflation is only 1.10 percent higher than it was a year ago, WalletHub said.

Houston residents may be feeling the sting a lot less than they did in January 2024, when WalletHub said the city had the 7th highest inflation rate in the country. And yet, Houstonians are increasingly concerned with the economy and its effects on inflation, a recent University of Houston survey found.

A separate WalletHub study named Texas the No. 1 most "financially distressed" state in the U.S. for 2025, adding to the severity of Texans' economical woes.

U.S. cities with the worst inflation problems

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado topped the list as the city with the No. 1 worst inflation problem as of September. The Denver metro saw a 1 percent uptick in inflation when compared to two months prior, and it's 3.10 percent higher than it was a year ago.

Elsewhere in Texas, WalletHub ranked Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington as the metro with the 8th lowest inflation problem nationwide. That's a fair shift from a previous report from June 2025 that ranked DFW the No. 1 U.S. metro with the lowest inflation issues.

The top 10 metros where inflation has risen the most as of September 2025 are:

  • No. 1 – Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado
  • No. 2 – Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California
  • No. 3 – Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin
  • No. 4 – Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts-New Hampshire
  • No. 5 –Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin
  • No. 6 – (tied) Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Delaware-Maryland and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Virginia-Maryland-West Virginia
  • No. 8 – Anchorage, Alaska
  • No. 9 – New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania
  • No. 10 – San Diego-Carlsbad, California
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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Axiom Space taps solar array developer for first space station module

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Houston-based Axiom Space is making progress on developing its commercial space station.

The company awarded Florida-based Redwire Corporation a contract to develop and deliver roll-out solar array (ROSA) wings to power the Axiom Payload Power Thermal Module (AxPPTM), which will be the first module for the new space station.

AxPPTM will initially attach to the International Space Station. AxPPTM will later separate from the ISS and rendezvous with Axiom’s Habitat 1 (AxH1) on orbit. Eventually, an airlock, Habitat 2 (AxH2) and finally the Research and Manufacturing Facility (AxRMF) will be added to the first two Axiom modules.

AxPPTM is anticipated to launch toward the end of 2027. The two-module station (AxPPTM and AxH1) is expected to be operational as a free-flying station by 2028, and the full four-module station around 2030.

The modules will be integrated and assembled at Axiom Space’s Assembly and Integration facility, making them the first human-rated spacecraft built in Houston.

Redwire’s ROSA technology was originally developed for the ISS, according to Space News. It has yielded a 100 percent success rate on on-orbit performance. The technology has also been used on NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, the Maxar-built Power and Propulsion Element for the Artemis Lunar Gateway and Thales Alenia Space’s Space Inspire satellites.

“As a market leader for space power solutions, Redwire is proud to be selected as a strategic supplier to deliver ROSAs for Axiom Space’s first space station module,” Mike Gold, Redwire president of civil and international space, said in a news release. “As NASA and industry take the next steps to build out commercial space stations to maintain U.S. leadership in low-Earth orbit, Redwire continues to be the partner of choice, enabling critical capabilities to ensure on-orbit success.”

Greentown Houston to add new AI lab for energy startups

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Greentown Labs has partnered with Shoreless to launch an AI lab within its Houston climatetech incubator.

"Climatetech and energy startups are transforming industries, and AI is a critical tool in that journey," Lawson Gow, Greentown's Head of Houston, said in a news release. "We're excited to bring this new offering to our entrepreneurs and corporate partners to enhance the way they think about reducing costs and emissions across the value chain."

Shoreless, a Houston-based company that enables AI adoption for enterprise systems, will support startups developing solutions for supply-chain optimization and decarbonization. They will offer Greentown members climate sprint sessions that will deliver AI-driven insights to assist companies in reducing Scope 3 emissions, driving new revenue streams and lowering expenses. Additionally, the lab will help companies test their ideas before attempting to scale them globally.

"The future of climatetech is intertwined with the future of AI," Ken Myers, Founder and CEO of Shoreless, said in a news release. "By launching this AI lab with Greentown Labs, we are creating a collaborative ecosystem where innovation can flourish. Our agentic AI is designed to help companies make a real difference, and we are excited to see the groundbreaking solutions that will emerge from this partnership."

Greentown and Shoreless will collaborate on workshops that address industry needs for technical teams, and Shoreless will also work to provide engagement opportunities and tailored workshops for Greentown’s startups and residents. Interested companies can inquire here.

Recently, Greentown Labs also partnered with Los Angeles-based software development firm Nominal to launch the new Industrial Center of Excellence at Greentown's Houston incubator. It also announced a partnership with Houston-based EnergyTech Nexus, which will also open an investor lounge on-site last month. Read more here.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

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