Engineering Approaches to Overcome Barriers in Pulmonary Drug and Gene Delivery
Mucus in the lung functions as an “escalator,” trapping inhaled pathogens and particulates and transporting them via mucociliary clearance to the throat for sterilization. While essential for host defense, airway clearance also poses a significant challenge for inhaled drug delivery systems, which must be engineered to overcome the mucus barrier to achieve therapeutic efficacy. In this talk, I will highlight our recent work on an in situ-forming PEG hydrogel designed as an extended-release platform for intranasal drug delivery. I will also present ongoing efforts in my lab to develop new PEGylation strategies that enhance the performance of aerosolized nanomedicines. Finally, the emergence of mRNA lipid nanoparticles has motivated their use across many disease indications including infectious and respiratory diseases. I will discuss new avenues we are exploring to design lipid nanoparticles for inhaled mRNA delivery.
Bio: Gregg Duncan earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering under the guidance of Michael Bevan at Johns Hopkins University in 2014. He then completed his postdoctoral training at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the Center for Nanomedicine directed by Justin Hanes. Duncan is currently an associate professor in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland where he leads the Respiratory NanoBioengineering (RnB) lab. The RnB lab engineers new tools to understand the lung airway microenvironment and develops new therapeutic approaches for diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cystic fibrosis. He is the recipient of several honors and awards including the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, BMES Rita Schaffer Young Investigator Award, the CMBE Young Innovator Award, and the NSF CAREER Award. Duncan has also been recognized for his commitment to teaching and mentoring receiving the Clark School of Engineering’s E. Robert Kent Outstanding Teaching Award and the UMD Graduate School’s Faculty Mentor of the Year Award.