PROJECTS:
Targeting Brain Metastases with P-Selectin Targeting Nanoparticles
Investigating Species-Specific Differences in Tumor-Endothelial P-Selectin Expression
BACKGROUND:
I was initially trained as a biological engineer at Cornell University studying various aspects of synthetic biology and RNA. I’ve worked in labs like Craig Mello’s studying RNAi in C. elegans, Ailong Ke’s studying Type I CRISPR systems, and Julius Luck’s studying small trans-activating RNA systems. That experience was compounded by a stint at a Flagship company, Evelo Biosciences, where I co-developed a Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III-ready fermentation process for an anaerobic commensal bacterial therapy for atopic dermatitis.As an engineer, I am driven towards solving medical problems and using engineering tools to uncover new biology. My projects focus on the translational potential of our lab’s fucoidan-wrapped P-selectin targeting nanoparticles. Because these nanoparticles can cross an intact blood brain barrier selectively into the tumor of a pediatric medulloblastoma model, I aim to use this technology to deliver drugs to models of brain metastases. At the same time, primates have developed and evolved alternative ways of regulating P-selectin expression and surface presentation. To translate P-selectin-targeting nanotechnologies into the clinical realm, this aspect of species-specific expression must be investigated in a tumor-dependent context.