Professor
University of Southern California
My research group explores biomolecular engineering and drug delivery. I received my S.B. in chemical engineering and biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where I studied biodegradable polymeric scaffolds for tissue engineering. A Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellow, I completed my Ph.D. at the University of California at San Francisco and Berkeley in Bioengineering, where I studied peptide-lipid conjugates and delivery to the brain. As a KNRSA Postdoctoral Fellow, I studied at Duke University in Biomedical Engineering, where I worked with recombinant polypeptides. In 2008, I started my independent research program at the University of Southern California in the Departments of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, and Ophthalmology. I have 17 years of experience teaching pharmacokinetics and pharmaceutical sciences. I have authored numerous peer-reviewed publications relating to recombinant protein-polymers, peptides, liposomes, and drug delivery. I am inventor on 6 issued patents, and a senior fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. I recently completed a 6-year term as a standing member of the innovations in nanomedicine study section at the NIH. Also, I am an executive editor at Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews. My current interests fall into three categories: i) development of switchable protein fusions as biological tools; ii) cancer-therapies utilizing peptide, antibodies, and small molecules; and iii) ophthalmological-peptide therapies targeting the retina, cornea, or lacrimal gland. My group uses biophysical measurements, cell-biology, molecular imaging, and pharmacokinetic modeling to design peptide-based drug carriers.