Stowers Institute appoints former Cerner legal chief as new general counsel
Business Announcement
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 31-May-2026 22:15 ET (1-Jun-2026 02:15 GMT/UTC)
The Stowers Institute for Medical Research has named Dan Devers as General Counsel, effective January 26, 2026. In this role, Devers will provide strategic and operational leadership on all legal matters across the Institute and its affiliates, including governance, compliance, intellectual property strategy, and partnerships that support the Institute’s mission to uncover new knowledge in foundational biology and develop innovative ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent disease.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Koç University in Istanbul have created hydrogel-based artificial cilia that move almost exactly like real biological cilia – the closest imitation achieved so far. The researchers can program each micrometer-sized cilium to move freely in space – just like cilia in the human body. With their research, the scientists aim to investigate how natural cilia function, how they coordinate their movement, and what role they play in brain development, signal perception, and fluid movement, for example. Because the artificial cilia are soft and easy to control, they could one day be used in medical devices to help people whose natural cilia are damaged or not working properly. The fast, low-voltage motion demonstrated in their study could also inspire a new generation of tiny robots that were previously impossible at such small scales. This milestone work will be published in Nature on January 14, 2026.