Nanomedicine

One primary focus of our research involves the design, genetic engineering, and translational application of bioinspired nanocarriers such as extracellular vesicles and lipid-based nanoparticles for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. Through targeting elements, our platforms can be tailored to directly bind to sites of diseased tissue and to limit off-target side effects in healthy tissues. For imaging, our goal is to incorporate components that are relevant for clinical modalities such as MR and PET imaging, with the goal of utilizing this technology for personalized medicine. We engineer biological or lipid-based nanocarriers with combination therapy and gene therapy, and design nanotherapeutics for specific routes of administration that considers patient compliance.

Regenerative Medicine

We are also interested in synthesizing biomimetic scaffolds for regenerative engineering. By further mimicking tissue and organ hierarchical structures, we aim to enhance the in vivo response. One aspect of this research is focused on tailoring our materials to form in situ in order to complement the growing number of minimally-invasive procedures .