Jingyi Qiu PhD Dissertation Defense

Content

Join us for Jingyi Qiu's PhD dissertation defense!
Advisor: S. Thai Thayumanavan
Location: Goessman 153 or via Zoom (Meeting ID: 413 545 2017)
Time: 1:00-3:00 PM

Innovative Nanodelivery Systems for Precision Cancer Treatments
The effective delivery of therapeutic agents remains a major challenge in biomedical research, as biological barriers such as cellular membranes and intracellular trafficking often limit bioavailability and functional outcomes. This dissertation focuses on the design and engineering of nanocarrier delivery systems to overcome these limitations and enable efficient transport of biologics and small molecules.

First, cell membrane-coated nanoparticles (CMNPs) were developed to investigate alternative cellular uptake mechanisms. The system demonstrates a significant enhancement in the intracellular delivery efficiency via membrane fusion, suggesting broad potential for this delivery strategy across diverse therapeutic areas. Building on this concept, artificial cell-derived vesicles (ACDVs) were engineered as a platform for delivering functional membrane-associated proteins. This approach enables direct modulation of cell surface properties, allowing the presentation of bioactive proteins such as receptors and enzymes without genetic modification. Finally, antibody–nanogel conjugates (ANCs) were developed to translate these design principles into a therapeutic context. This platform offers a significantly higher drug-to-antibody ratio (DAR) and eliminates the need for complex payload chemical modification, presenting a superior alternative for targeted cancer therapy in vitro and in vivo.

Together, these studies establish a versatile framework for overcoming biological barriers through nanostructured delivery strategies, spanning fundamental mechanistic insights, functional cell engineering, and translational therapeutic development. These findings offer promising strategies for the next generation of targeted biologics and therapeutics.