The Lab
Our mission is to develop and translate innovative technologies through biomaterials design at the interface of nanoscience, engineering, biology, and medicine to address the unmet critical needs in healthcare.
Our lab specializes in engineering nanomaterials for delivery of nucleic acid and protein therapeutics, soft tissue regeneration, and immunoengineering. Specifically, we aim to understand the structure-property-function relationship of biomaterials and technology platforms to enhance their therapeutic efficacy and develop new methods for scalable manufacturing and translation.
We build upon the strong collaborative projects with top scientists and clinicians at Hopkins and beyond. We are part of the Institute for NanoBioTechnology (INBT) and Department of Materials Science and Engineering located on the engineering campus, and the Translational Tissue Engineering Center (TTEC) and Department of Biomedical Engineering located on the medical campus. Our research has a strong translational focus and enjoys strong collaborations with industry partners.
News
Selected Recent Publications
Zhu Y, Ma J, et al., Screening for lipid nanoparticles that modulate the immune activity of helper T cells towards enhanced antitumour activity. Nat. Biomed. Eng. 2023 Dec 11. PMID: 38082180.
Li L’, Yao ZC’, et al., A nanofiber-hydrogel composite improves tissue repair in a rat model of Crohn’s disease perianal fistulas. Sci. Adv. 2023 Jan 4;9(1):eade1067. PMID: 36598982.
Li S’, Hu Y’, et al., Payload distribution and capacity of mRNA lipid nanoparticles. Nat Commun. 2022 Sep 23; 13(1): 5561. PMID: 36151112.
Zhu Y, et al., Multi-step screening of DNA/lipid nanoparticles and co-delivery with siRNA to enhance and prolong gene expression. Nat Commun. 2022 Jul 25; 13(1): 4282. PMID: 35879315.
Yao ZC, et al., Biostimulatory micro-fragmented nanofiber-hydrogel composite improves mesenchymal stem cell delivery and soft tissue remodeling. Small. 2022 Sep;18(36):e2202309. PMID: 35948487.
Li L’, Zhang Y’, et al., Quaternary nanoparticles enable sustained release of bortezomib for hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatology. 2022 May 21. PMID: 35596926. [Cover]
Hanwright PJ’, Qiu C’, et al., Sustained IGF-1 delivery ameliorates effects of chronic denervation and improves functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury and repair. Biomaterials. 280: 121244. 2021. PMID: 34794826.
Hu Y’, Zhu Y’, et al., Size-Controlled and Shelf-Stable DNA Particles for Production of Lentiviral Vectors. Nano Lett. 21(13): 5697-5705 (2021). PMID: 34228937.
Hu Y, et al., Liter-scale manufacturing of shelf-stable plasmid DNA/PEI transfection particles for viral vector production. Mol. Ther. Methods Clin. Dev. 32(1): 101194 (2024).
Hu Y, et al., Kinetic control in assembly of plasmid DNA/polycation complex nanoparticles. ACS Nano. 13 (9): 10161–10178 (2019). PMID: 31503450.
Li X, Cho B, et al., Nanofiber-hydrogel composite-mediated angiogenesis for soft tissue reconstruction. Sci. Transl. Med. 2019; 11(490). pii: eaau6210. PMID: 31043572.
Hickey JW, et al., Engineering an artificial T-cell stimulating matrix for immunotherapy. Adv. Mater. 2019 Apr 10: e1807359. PMID: 30968468 [Cover].