Research Interest: Drug Delivery

PHD PROGRAM
Neuroscience

RESEARCH INTEREST
Drug Delivery, Drug Discovery, Neurobiology

I am building a career in both clinical and translational research of brain tumors, primary and those resulting from metastasis. Clinically, I primarily see adult brain tumor patients and conduct/initiate clinical trials to meet the needs of this patient population. On the research side, I have a long-standing research interest in clinically-important membrane transport proteins. I conducted genetic and biochemical research on transporters, channels, and pumps during my doctoral research at the University of Cambridge, my postdoctoral study at Yale University, and various institutions (Yale, Johns Hopkins University, Cambridge) while training in medicine at Cambridge. Membrane transport proteins I have worked on include the proton-ATPase (mentor: C. Slayman) and the TAP transporter (mentor: P. Lehner), which are critical to antigen processing. After receiving my medical degree, I pursued advanced medical and additional research training in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins, Harvard) and received continuous funding from the NIH to pursue this research (NINDS-R25, NCI-K12, NINDS-K08). My first independent appointment as an Assistant Professor, Neuro-oncologist was at Emory University in 2016. At the University of Cincinnati, I was the Associate Director of the UC Brain Tumor Center and a recipient of the Harold C. Schott Endowed Chair.

At this time, my lab is focused on: (1) the development of a therapeutic approach for the treatment of primary and pediatric brain tumors, as well as cancers that commonly metastasize to the CNS (lung and melanoma); and (2) translation of technological advances that may impact treatment and quality of life in patients with cancer.

PHD PROGRAM

RESEARCH INTEREST
Drug Delivery, Nanomedicine, Translational Medicine

PHD PROGRAM

RESEARCH INTEREST
Chemical Biology, Drug Delivery, Nanomedicine

“I really love solving biology problems with chemistry which is why I’m attracted to chemical biology. Specifically, discovering novel drug targets and developing novel drugs to treat cancer is really exciting to me. I think a massive limitation of our current drugs is how precisely they can be delivered which is why drug delivery is also exciting to me. Especially things like smart liposomes. They have the ability to reduce toxicity, increase safety and efficacy, and allow protein-based drugs to reach intracellular targets. It exciting to think of a world where powerful drugs have minimal side effects and can treat disease much more aggressively as a result.

I spent a lot of time in a lab where we used alphafold to predict G protein coupled receptor structures. Protein based drugs have so many advantages over small molecules and this insane leap in machine learning tools will surely revolutionize structure based small molecule design as well as design of protein therapeutics.

Finally, I do not know a ton about the immune system, but I’ve spent this spring/ summer taking notes on immunology lectures I found online and it’s very fascinating to me just how sophisticated and complex it is, especially with immunotherapies being all the rage in cancer treatments the last decade. I think nature has created some of the most eloquent solutions to its problems that there is no use reinventing the wheel. If something as complex and effective as the immune system exists, to me it makes more sense to prime/aid the immune system in attacking cancer. Help nature do the heavy lifting rather than doing it ourselves. This idea is really exciting to me, and I would love to work on projects that relate to the immune system but from a chemical biology / med Chem/ drug delivery perspective rather than being in a pure cell bio lab.”

PHD PROGRAM
Microbiology & Immunology

RESEARCH INTEREST
Antibiotics/Antivirals, Bacteriology, Diabetes, Drug Delivery, Drug Discovery, Pathogenesis & Infection, Pharmacology, Translational Medicine

PHD PROGRAM
Pharmaceutical Sciences

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biomaterials, Drug Delivery, Immunology, Nanomedicine, Translational Medicine

Our lab is broadly interested in utilizing high resolution 3D printing to develop novel drug delivery carriers for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Current research interests lay in manufacturing biodegradable porous hydrogel scaffold implants for cell/drug delivery for the treatment of recurrent brain cancer. We are actively investigating biomaterial properties for passive cell/drug loading into scaffolds as well as developing materials and methods to support conjugation strategies for actuated release mechanisms.

PHD PROGRAM
Applied Physical Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biomaterials, Biophysics, Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Cell Signaling, Drug Delivery, Drug Discovery, Nanomedicine, Translational Medicine

My lab focuses on developing bioinspired molecular constructs and material platforms that can mimic proteins and be programmed to respond to stimuli resulting from biomolecular recognition. Major efforts are directed to design peptide- and nucleic acid-based scaffolds or injectable nanostructures to create artificial extracellular matrices that can directly signal cells.

PHD PROGRAM
Biomedical Engineering

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biomaterials, Biophysics, Drug Delivery

Our research focuses on both fundamental and applied study of soft materials and nanomaterials, develop fabrication approaches to enable hybrid integration of multi-materials towards high-performance electronic and photonic systems, innovate new technology that can intelligently immerse electronics and photonics into biological systems, and create new tools and devices to address unmet clinical needs and improve human healthcare. Our lab fosters a collaborative environment that converges expertise/interests from various backgrounds including materials science and engineering, electrical engineering, physics, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and biomedical engineering. We provide hands-on learning, enjoy making practical tools, and aspire to transform scientific advancements into societal solutions.

PHD PROGRAM
Pharmaceutical Sciences

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biomaterials, Drug Delivery, Drug Discovery, Nanomedicine, Translational Medicine

The broad aim of research in the Fenton Laboratory is to develop and evaluate synthetic drug delivery platforms to treat neurodegenerative disorders in the brain using RNA therapeutics. RNA therapeutics represent a particularly promising class of therapeutics for neurodegenerative management given their ability to tune levels of specific protein expression in living systems. For example, protein downregulation can be achieved by administering short interfering RNAs (siRNAs); alternatively, proteins can be upregulated by messenger RNA (mRNA) administration. Despite this promise, fewer than 0.05% of the world’s clinically approved drugs are RNA therapeutics, and their translation to neurodegenerative disorders in the brain warrants further study at the fundamental and clinical levels.

To address these challenges, our group focuses on the discovery and development of molecular carriers and technology platforms to improve the targeting, safety, and efficacy of RNA drugs within target cells. Specifically, our group leverages an interdisciplinary approach to develop lipid nanoparticles (LNP) as well as soft matter hydrogel platforms that can serve as carrier systems and/or drug delivery models for RNA drugs. Further, our group also explores the development of technological platforms to further expand the potential of RNA drugs within resource limited settings. Lastly, given that mRNA drugs can be engineered to encode for virtually any polypeptide or protein based antigen, our group also aims to leverage our platformable LNP technologies for the study and prevention of cancers and infectious disease. In undertaking such an approach, the goal of our research is to equip students with fundamental skillsets for the development of next generation drugs while simultaneously developing clinically-relevant carrier platforms and technologies for the study, prevention, and treatment of human disease.

PHD PROGRAM
Pathobiology & Translational Science

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biomaterials, Drug Delivery, Nanomedicine, Pharmacology

Dr. Benhabbour’s academic research focuses on development of novel tunable delivery platforms and polymer-based devices to treat or prevent a disease. Her work combines the elegance of organic and polymer chemistry with the versatility of engineering and formulation development to design and fabricate efficient and translatable nanocarriers and drug delivery systems for cancer treatment and HIV prevention.

Dr. Benhabbour has also Founded her startup company Anelleo, Inc. (AnelleO) in 2016 to develop the first 3D printed intravaginal ring as a platform technology for women’s health.

Current technologies in development in Dr. Benhabbour’s Lab include:
– 3D Printed intravaginal ring technology: A) Multipurpose prevention technology (MPT) for prevention of HIV/STIs and unplanned pregnancy.
– Polymer based ultra-long-acting injectable implant for HIV prevention and treatment.
– Combinatory chitosan/cellulose nanocrystals thermoresponsive hydrogel system: A) Sub-Q or intraosseous injectable for treatment of osteoporosis; B) Bio-ink for 3D bioprinting; C) Scaffold for stem cell delivery (e.g. iNSCs for treatment of post-surgical glioblastoma.
– Mucoadhesive thin film for treatment of vulvodynia.
– Targeted nanoparticles and hydrogel scaffolds for treatment of NSCLC.

PHD PROGRAM
Biochemistry & Biophysics, Chemistry

RESEARCH INTEREST
Biochemistry, Drug Delivery, Drug Discovery, Molecular Medicine, Nanomedicine

My research has focused on developing new radio-chemistry, imaging probes, and therapeutic approaches including nanomedicine for various diseases. Most importantly, we have the culture of forming an active collaboration with people in different field. With a cGMP lab located within our facility, we are also experienced on developing lead agents and translate it to clinic.