Research
Delivery platforms and the methods we use to judge them.
mRNA lipid nanoparticles
Designing ionizable lipids and formulations that release mRNA efficiently from the endosome, and testing them in models of aging, pulmonary fibrosis and psoriasis.
ionizable lipid, endosomal escape, mRNA
Carrier-free mRNA delivery
Next-generation mRNA delivery that does not depend on nanocarriers, supported by the Outstanding Early-Career Researcher Program (Ministry of Science and ICT, 2025).
nanocarrier-free, mRNA
Hydrogels for local cancer immunotherapy
Injectable hydrogels that hold LNP-formulated mRNA at the tumor site and remodel the tumor immune microenvironment, with a focus on glioblastoma.
hydrogel, glioblastoma, tumor microenvironment
Cell-selective biotherapeutic delivery
Targeting genes and mRNA to specific hematopoietic lineages and tissue cell types so that therapy acts where it is needed and nowhere else.
targeting, hematopoietic lineage, gene therapy
Photoporation
Light-triggered nanoparticles that transiently open cell membranes for gene delivery into hard-to-transfect cells, applied to fibrotic disease with Ghent University.
photoporation, fibrosis, Ghent University
Evaluation techniques for biotherapeutics
Reporter-cell screens, uptake and translation assays that tell us early whether a delivery system will work in the body.
reporter assay, screening
Collaborators
Ghent University
Belgium
Prof. Stefaan De Smedt, Prof. Félix Sauvage
Nanomedicine Lab; ongoing collaboration on photoporation-based gene delivery for fibrotic disease.
University of Padova
Italy
Prof. Alessio Malfanti
Collaboration on hydrogel-LNP mRNA delivery for local glioblastoma immunotherapy.
Seoul National University
Republic of Korea
Prof. Yu-Kyoung Oh
Ph.D. advisor; continuing joint publications on mRNA nanoparticle delivery.