Our lab’s research focuses on three main areas:
(1) Gene editing. Emerging CRISPR technologies provide new opportunities to advance gene therapy. Efficient delivery and gene targeting specificity are the two keys to realizing the full potential of CRISPR gene editing. We are tackling these two main barriers via both delivery and molecular engineering innovations.
(2) Drug and gene delivery. We are building new toolkits ranging from viral vectors, nanomaterials, cells, and physical methods to improve the drug and gene delivery efficiency and specificity. Our bioengineering approaches help us address the transport questions in different challenging disease and tissue targets.
(3) In vitro screening. Our in vitro physiological systems (tumor and tissue chips) allow us to study the interactions between cells, drug-cell, and cell-microenvironment. These are more physiologically relevant platforms for evaluating the pharmacokinetics of biologics.