Looking for Nanoparticle
Delivery Postdoctoral Fellows for RNA Therapeutics
@
Nanyang Technological University/School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and
Biotechnology (CCEB) (Singapore)
Scope of the
Research
Ribonucleic
acid (RNA) therapeutics, which are nucleic acid fragments with defined
sequences that interfere with specific gene expression or produce therapeutic proteins,
are promising medicines, as shown by the recent success with COVID vaccines.
They can treat or prevent a multitude of human diseases ranging from infectious
diseases to cancers to genetic disorders. However, RNAs are generally large
hydrophilic polyanions that
cannot enter cells on their own. In addition, naked RNAs are vulnerable to
removal by the immune system and by RNases in tissues. Hence, they require
suitable delivery vehicles to reach the cytosol, which is the target site of
RNA therapeutics. Various families of delivery vehicles have been explored.
Among them, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which are employed in the recent
FDA-approved COVID-19 mRNA-LNP vaccines, are one of the most advanced systems.
There are now at least 15 FDA-approved RNA therapeutics, including two COVID-19
mRNA vaccines, with another 15 or more approvals expected in the next 5 years. Besides
LNPs, polymeric nanoparticles are also commonly researched. However, when RNA
Delivery Vehicles enter cells, most of the particles are entrapped in some
sub-cellular compartments such as endosomes and are finally destroyed. Only a
small fraction of the particles reaches the final target in the cytosol. To
reduce toxicity and improve the treatment outcome, a critical hurdle is to
improve the endosomal escape efficiency of delivery nanoparticles.
The Laboratory for RNA Delivery Therapeutics @ NTU
Prof
Mary Chan-Park and her team have recently won a highly competitive large grant
on the design, synthesis and studies of the improved RNA delivery vehicles. New
alternative delivery vehicles for the promising RNA nanomedicine are urgently
needed to replace the current ones to achieve great delivery efficacy with less
side effects. We have shown that some polymeric or lipid nanoparticles are
excellent candidates as delivery agents.
This
research will be in collaboration with other top international scientists from
MIT, and Boston University.
Dr
Mary Chan-Park is currently the Director of the Laboratory for RNA Delivery
Therapeutics. She is also the current President Chair Professor of Chemistry,
Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (2024 onwards) and the 2019 Board of
Trustees Chaired Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering (2019-2024),
both at the Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore). She also holds a joint appointment at the
Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at NTU. She is the Director of the Centre for Antimicrobial
Bioengineering and the Director of the Laboratory for RNA Delivery
Therapeutics. She is a Fellow of the America Institute of Medical and
Biological Engineering. She is also an associate editor of the American
Chemical Society (ACS) Applied Materials & Interfaces. She is the world’s
top 2% scientists according to the Stanford University List (in Nanoscience and
Nanotechnology, and Polymers). She has published extensively, with more than
250 papers in top-tier journals such as Nature Communications (2024, 2019),
PNAS (2020), ACS Central Science (2020), Nano Letters (2021), Angewandte Chemie (2020), Nature Materials (2011), Advanced Materials,
Advanced Functional Materials, JACS, Small, Biomaterials, etc. Her
H-index (according to Google scholar) is 70 with 20K+ citations.
Mary
Chan-Park’s expertise is in polymer-cellular membrane interaction. She has
discovered novel mechanisms for polymer-membrane interactions. She has also
developed various cationic polymers for antimicrobial and specific membrane
interactions. She has developed new delivery vehicles for RNA therapeutics.
The Positions
Postdoctoral Fellows
We
are looking for Postdoctoral Fellows for the Laboratory to conduct research in
novel delivery vehicles for RNA therapeutics. Recent PhD graduates in chemical
engineering, bioengineering, chemistry, materials science and engineering or
related fields with knowledge in RNA delivery and independent research are
strongly encouraged to apply or inquire.
Skill
sets in design of delivery vehicles (either Lipid Nanoparticles or Polymer
Nanoparticles) with application for RNA delivery,
Technical
skills of formulation, lipid/polymer synthesis, measuring transfection
efficiency, flow cytometer, etc.
A
PhD from a good university in the field of RNA delivery, polymer chemistry or
LNP Design. Good track record in research publications.
Competitive
remuneration that commensurate with the top-quality relevant publications and
experience.
How to
Apply:
Contact
Prof Mary Chan (Centre Director) at mbechan@ntu.edu.sg