Research Initiatives
Nanotechnology-enabled nuclear reprogramming and cell therapies
Recent advances in nuclear reprogramming have opened up the possibility for the development of highly effective, patient-specific cell therapies. Current methodologies for reprogramming, however, face a number of translational hurdles, including heavy reliance on viral vectors, and the highly stochastic nature of current transfection methodologies. New technologies capable of mediating nuclear reprogramming through non-viral deterministic approaches are needed in order to facilitate the transition from lab bench to bedside. Our lab focuses on the development of virus-free nanotechnology-based approaches to controllably reprogram cells and tissues for regenerative medicine applications.
Lab-on-a-Chip Platforms for Single-Cellular and Molecular Bio-Interrogation
Lab on a chip (LOC)-type systems are powerful tools for fundamental studies and analytics in a number of biomedical applications. Such systems can enable single-cellular and molecular biointerrogation with high spatial and temporal resolution. We have developed a number of novel LOC platforms for different applications, including cytotoxicity studies of chemicals and nanomaterials at the single cell level, and monitoring primary and metastatic tumor cell motility patterns under guided migration conditions.
Micro- and Nanofabricated Platforms for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
Micro- and nanoscale technologies have been shown to offer unique capabilities to probe and recapitulate many aspects of the cellular microenvironment. This has had tremendous implications in different applications, including the development of massively parallel organoid cultures for drug discovery, and the fabrication of tissue engineering scaffolds for regenerative medicine. We have developed a number of system platforms that integrate both micro- and nanoscale components capable of modulating the assembly of microscale tissue subunits. In addition, we developed simpler protocols for the fabrication of 3D tissue engineering scaffolds with controlled geometry and chemistry at the micro- and nanoscale.
Models for Engineering Biocompatible, Nanoparticle-Centric Therapeutics
Micro- and nanoparticles have shown tremendous promise in mitigating the effects of chronic health conditions. To this extent, we have identified extracellular vesicles (EVs) as a promising nanoparticle to mediate therapeutic effects. These biocompatible nanoparticles are secreted from all types of cells as part of a system of paracrine and endocrine cell-to-cell signaling. We primarily focus our efforts on the development of nanoparticles capable of packaging and carrying therapeutic payloads by manipulating the transcriptome and proteome of the parent cell population. We have shown the capabilities to overexpress certain genes within a cell population that then carries over to an overexpression of transcripts in EVs derived from that cell population. We are adapting this approach to a number of chronic conditions.