(5af) Bionanomaterials and Microtherapeutic Systems

My research interests are in the field of micro and nanotechnology for biomedical applications. In this poster presentation I will give an overview of my proposed research plans and summarize my postdoctoral and doctoral research experience. My proposed research will be focused on molecular engineering of bionanomaterials to develop hierarchically-structured composite nanomaterials and to design novel microsystems to study fundamental issues in drug and vaccine delivery, immunology and biomedical engineering. To develop these advanced bionanomaterials I will exploit bionanomaterials that occur naturally (such as viruses and DNA) and also engineer novel synthetic biological materials using molecular biotechnology. My research will be conducted in a cross-disciplinary environment by utilizing the tools of engineering, virology, immunology and molecular biotechnology

During my doctoral studies I worked with Dr. Mark Prausnitz (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) at Georgia Institute of Technology and Dr. Mark Feinberg (Vaccine Research Center, Emory University) to develop the fields of coated microneedles and microdermabrasion for vaccine and drug delivery. This work allowed me to acquire a strong background in microfabrication, laser micromachining, dip-coating, microscopy and imaging, tissue histology, transdermal drug delivery, vaccine delivery, immunology and animal and human experiments. Currently, I am mentored as a postdoctoral research fellow by Dr. Richard Compans at Emory University and am working in the field of influenza viruses and novel virus-like particles as nanomaterials for vaccination. As part of my current research, I am developing a strong background in recombinant DNA technology, virus and virus-like particle synthesis, immunology of influenza vaccination and vaccine adjuvants.

With this overarching theme, my proposed research will focus on three principal thrust areas: (i) virus-based bionanomaterials ? to develop and characterize viruses as functional platforms for hierarchically structured nanomaterials and as architectural frameworks for synthesis of long range nanostructures, (ii) peptide-based nanostructured biopolymers ? to genetically synthesize peptide-based polymers and their hybrids, and determine their structure-property-function relationships to enable development of ?designer' biopolymeric nanomaterials, and (iii) micro delivery systems ? to design and engineer novel microsystems to enable efficient and targeted drug delivery. Fundamental research will be complemented with application-oriented studies focused in the areas of nanomedicine, immunotherapy, gene therapy and vaccine and drug delivery. My research also has potential for novel applications in the areas of catalysis, fuel cells, composite polymers and materials, tissue engineering, imaging and other biomedical applications.