Nanoparticle design to overcome biological barriers to immunotherapy

Mar
21

Nanoparticle design to overcome biological barriers to immunotherapy

Dr. Katharina Maisel, University of Maryland

3:30 p.m., March 21, 2023   |   B001 Geddes Hall

The Mucosal Associated Immune System Engineering and Lymphatics (MAISEL) Lab’s research integrates materials science, immunology, mucosal barrier physiology, and drug delivery to design nanoparticles to take advantage of the interface between biological barriers, particularly the lymphatics, interstitial tissue, mucosal surfaces, and nanoparticles.

Lymphatic vessels are critical for maintenance of tissue homeostasis and forming the adaptive immune response, as they are the natural conduit between peripheral tissues and the lymph nodes, where the immune response is shaped.

Katharina Maisel
Katharina Maisel

Because particulates are primarily shuttled via lymphatic vessels, lymphatics have received considerable attention as targets for drug delivery, particularly for immune modulation. Interstitial tissue spaces, including extracellular matrix and mucus mesh, form significant transport barriers to cells, large molecules, particulates, and therapeutics, and transport across these spaces governs what enters lymphatic vessels. The Maisel Lab has made significant progress in understanding how nanoparticle material properties like surface chemistry, affect their transport across biological barriers and how this can be harnessed to study biological barriers and design therapeutics.

Dr. Katharina Maisel obtained her BSE in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago in lymphatic and respiratory immunobiology prior to joining the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland as faculty in 2019.

The Mucosal Associated Immune System Engineering and Lymphatics (MAISEL) Lab’s research integrates materials science, immunology, mucosal barrier physiology, and drug delivery to design nanoparticles to take advantage of and study the interface between biological barriers, particularly the lymphatics, interstitial tissue, and mucosal surfaces, and nanoparticles. Dr. Maisel has won a number of awards, including NSF GRFP and NIH F32 fellowships as a trainee, the American Lung Association Dalsemer Award, LAM Foundation Career Development Award, NSF CAREER Award, and NIH NIGMS Maximizing Investigator Research Award. Her work has led to numerous high-impact publications, particularly in the field of drug delivery and mucosal and lymphatic immunoengineering, and several patents.