The human body has multiple barriers that protect vital organs from toxins and infections, but can also prevent life-saving drugs from reaching their targets. One of the toughest barriers is the blood-brain barrier, a tightly regulated shield that blocks most substances from entering the brain. While crucial for protection, it makes treating neurological diseases like epilepsy and Parkinson’s incredibly difficult. In addition, some aggressive tumors create their own barriers, forming dense tissues, increasing pressure, and developing abnormal blood vessels that keep drugs out. Overcoming these barriers requires innovative drug delivery strategies to ensure that medications reach the places they are needed most.
New Approaches to Precision Drug Delivery
With a background in applied physics and engineering, I integrate material science, device design, and computational modeling to develop new biomedical tools. My work spans from understanding the core principles of material design and mass transport to translating these insights into functional drug delivery systems. Using computer simulations and finite element modeling, I refine and optimize these systems to enhance precision and efficiency. Most of my work focuses on electrophoretic drug delivery, a technology also known as iontronics. It uses charged hydrogels and electronic controls to release drugs exactly when and where they are needed - without fluid flow. This unique property makes iontronics particularly suitable for the most sensitive targets, such as the human brain. Whether developing programmable implantable drug delivery systems for long-term chemotherapy or engineering miniaturized chemical interfaces for the control of epileptic seizures, my goal is to create solutions we can rely on.
Collaboration Across Disciplines
I am driven by the challenge of transforming scientific progress into meaningful clinical solutions, and I am convinced that breakthrough innovation relies on strong collaboration. Solving complex multidisciplinary problems - and turning solutions into reality - requires expertise from both academia and industry. By working with biomedical researchers, computational modelers, clinicians, regulatory experts, and innovation strategists, I can help develop meaningful yet practical solutions. Through ongoing refinement and preclinical validation, we constantly move closer to new treatment options for those who need them most.
