Translational Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery

Translational Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery (TNDD) is designed for students who are interested in molecular design of nanomedicine platforms to help translate basic biological science to clinical medicine. TNDD is ideally suited for students with strong engineering, physical science, or biology background and a keen desire to cross the boundaries between traditional scientific disciplines.
Research Topics
TNDD faculty members are from a diverse scientific, engineering, and clinical background to offer a highly interdisciplinary training environment. Molecular design and nano engineering are closely integrated with pathophysiology and biology rationales to establish emerging precision paradigms for disease diagnosis and therapy. Examples include:
- Nano delineation of tumor boundaries for image-guided cancer surgery
- Minimalist nanovaccine for immunotherapy
- Theranostic nanomedicine integrating imaging and therapeutic delivery targeting diabetes or cancer
- Cancer-targeted siRNA/miRNA delivery and therapy
Director

Associate Professor
Faculty
Associate Professor
Research Interests: Drug resistance mechanism, drug delivery systems, nanoparticles, immunotherapy, tissue engineering
Professor
Research Interests: Activatable optical/MRI imaging probes to study tumor metabolism and theranostic nanomedicine for cancer-targeted drug therapy

Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Ultrasound contrast agent, perfluorocarbon emulsions, development of new ultrasound-based strategies for early detection and treatment of diseases

Associate Professor
Research Interests: Bioresponsive nanomaterials for in vivo detection and therapy; targeted and activatable ultrasound agents for the detection of inflammation and cancer; ultrasound-based gene delivery platforms

Professor
Research Interests: Tumor pathophysiology, development of novel therapeutics and prognostic imaging biomarkers based on MRI, optical and photoacoustic imaging.

Professor
Research Interests: Polymer and materials chemistry, drug and gene delivery, RNAi, biomedical imaging, detection and treatment of cancer

Professor
Research Interests: Clinical application of nanoprobes with unique nanoscale behavior

Professor
Research Interests: Development of PET, SPECT, and MRI imaging probes to assess biological abnormalities and evaluation of disease treatment

Associate Members
These faculty members do not accept graduate students. They participate in teaching, co-mentoring, exam and dissertation committees, and all other program activities.
Professor
Research Interests: Urology; laparoscopy, telesurgical mentoring

Associate Professor
Research Interests: Molecular and functional imaging, rational design of bifunctional ligands, targeted MRI contrast agents and radiopharmaceuticals

Professor
Research Interests: Cervical cancer, developmental therapeutics, ovarian cancer, early detection of ovarian cancer

Assistant Professor
Research Interests: Pathogen inactivation, cancer prevention, aging research

Professor
Research Interests: Application of biomedical engineering to cancer research, developing novel cancer diagnostics and therapeutics to improve cancer treatment, genitourinary cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, radiation oncology, translational research, cancer immunotherapy, cancer nanotherapeutics, cancer biomarkers, radioisotopes, nanoparticles, prostate cancer, chemoradiotherapy
