Welcome to the Translational Bio-pharma Engineering Nanodelivery Research Laboratory!

The mission of the Translational Bio-pharma Engineering Nanodelivery Research Laboratory is to understand the drug and gene delivery approaches for the targeted delivery of drugs, proteins, siRNA (small interfering RNA) and miRNA (micro RNA) relevant to human disease. Our lab has been developing novel drug and gene delivery systems that enables the research community to ask new questions. The goal of the research group is to develop cutting-edge drug and gene delivery systems to drive novel delivery systems, discovery, bioengineering, and pharmacology based research findings for the treatment of cancer, pulmonary disorders, and other human diseases. The lab aims to develop natural and engineered polymer based multifunctional bioresponsive drug and gene delivery systems including nanocarriers (NCs) which could selectively deliver the therapeutic agents such as drugs, proteins, siRNA  or miRNA to the site of action for the treatment of cancer, pulmonary diseases and skin disorders while sparing normal tissues.

We have adopted a multidisciplinary approach using natural and bioengineered polymer chemistry, nanotechnology, manufacturing, drug discovery, molecular biology, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamics and imaging techniques in collaboration with investigators from Engineering, Medical School, Cancer Center and Biomedical Science institutes. We are designing a new generation of NCs with “magic bullet” platform, which could recognize the disease cells or cells associated with inflammatory diseases and selectively enhance delivery of therapeutic agents while sparing normal healthy tissues.

Our research is focused on drug and gene delivery via inhalation, parenteral and oral routes to improve the efficacy and minimize the adverse side effects. In addition, the developed targeted systems will serve as tracking tools for in vivo imaging and diagnosis. The long-term goal is to translate the current combination therapy lab findings for clinical use.

We have utilized various strategies to improve the performance of delivery systems, including specific site targeting, enhanced disease cells uptake, and intracellular bioreducible NCs. The developed targeted delivery approaches are studied for the treatment for cancer such as lung cancer, mesothelioma, and neuroblastoma, pulmonary disorders such as asthma and skin disorders. The results obtained from the preclinical studies will also help to initiate the clinical trials with NCs for the treatment of patients.