Postdoctoral Associate – Multivalent Nano-conjugates for Targeted Penetration of and Delivery to Dense Extracellular Matrices (Cartilage, Cornea)
This position in the Paula T. Hammond Lab at the MIT Koch Institute and Dept. of Chemical Engineering, will be filled by a biomaterials scientist or engineer with chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science or bioengineering background. The project is a collaboration with the Alan Grodzinsky lab at MIT. The proposed work investigates new nanoscale carriers designed to penetrate densely charged, avascular tissues for biomedical applications including delivery of biologic and small molecule drugs to treat tissues such as cartilage, cornea, meniscus and tendon, that do not have blood vessels to help drug molecules get deep into the tissue for effective treatment. The work includes conjugation of nanocarriers such as dendrimers, with high positive charge valency, to achieve desired penetration and pharmacokinetics in joints, and optimization of conjugation chemistry to achieve triggered release in the presence of inflammation, pH/hypoxia, or enzymes. The work wil involve the release of biologic drugs and combinations with anti-inflammatory drugs that can aid in regeneration of cartilage (or other relevant drugs for treatment of cornea) and will be conjugated to the most optimal nanoparticle conjugates for delivery to cartilage to treat and aid in repair of early stage osteoarthritis in a highly controlled and effective manner. Collaboration opportunities within the Hammond lab on other drug nano-conjugates for tissue regeneration are also possible. Some expertise with synthetic polymer chemistry and/or chemical bioconjugation is preferred, as well as experience with in vitro cell work and materials characterization and bioanalytical methods.
Paula T. Hammond, PhD
David H. Koch Chair Professor of Engineering and Department Head
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department of Chemical Engineering
Koch Institute of Integrative Cancer Research
Associate Editor, ACS Nano
77 Massachusetts Avenue
ChE HQ Office: Room 66-342
Koch Institute Office: Room 76-553
Cambridge, MA 02139