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.
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.
Our in vitro, high-throughput tissue and tumor 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.
We are primarily interested to design methods to enhance the in vivo gene editing performance and confine the immunogenicity of CRISPR gene editors. We are also exploring the potential of applying gene editing technologies in neuronal degeneration disorders and cancers.
We work with both AAV and lentivrial vectors for various applications. Our vector optimization pipelines help us maximize the expression of our transgene products and their specificity at both cell and tissue levels.
In addition to viral vectors, we are also designing different nonviral approaches, including nanoparticles (mainly polyplexes), cells (MSC, T cell) and phyical methods (focused ultrasound) to improve the drug and gene delivery efficiency for our own applications.
The unique structure of our tumor chips allows us to investigate cell interactions, pharmacokinetics, and dynamics between tumor microenvironment, immune cells and immunotherapeutics. They are also powerful in vitro platforms for CRISPR screening.
Get interested in any of our research focuses? You are always welcome to discuss any possible projects!