Cancer Nanotechnology Lab · University of Missouri
Outsmarting cancer at the nanoscale
We unravel the mechanisms by which tumors resist treatment, then engineer nanoparticles that deliver gene therapies directly to tumors, sparing healthy tissue.
We develop targeted nanomedicines to overcome drug resistance and deliver gene therapies, including siRNA, mRNA, or CRISPR, directly to tumors.
Three research pillars
One translational pipeline, from mechanism to medicine
Decoding drug resistance
We elucidate the molecular mechanisms — and the compensatory genes — that let cancers, especially non-small-cell lung cancer, evade therapy.
Programmable gene therapies
We design siRNA, mRNA, and CRISPR therapeutics that silence resistance drivers and reprogram the cancer cell.
Targeted nanocarrier delivery
We engineer safe, biocompatible nanoparticles that carry these therapies to the tumor while sparing healthy tissue.
12 active in the U.S.
NCI / NIH + industry
commercializing the science
Adv. Materials · ACS Nano
Platforms we've built
Nanoscale architectures, engineered to deliver
Supraparticle
Self-assembled, multilayered nanoparticle architecture that packs and protects multiple cargoes in concentric shells.
Co-Silencing
A single nanoparticle that co-delivers two siRNAs — silencing a resistance gene and its compensatory backup at once.
Nanocarrier
Lipid nanocarriers that protect and release mRNA and CRISPR payloads inside the tumor cell.