ABSTRACT: The exogenous delivery of RNA into tissues has shown great potential for the treatment of destructive diseases by therapeutically controlling the expression of genes within those tissues. A key need for the broad application of RNA for therapeutic biomedical engineering applications is the development of safe and effective delivery systems capable of targeting specific cells within the body.
This type of selectivity has the potential to focus therapy, and thereby decrease unwanted side effects. Nanoformulation of RNA is one approach towards this end. In the first half of this talk, the design and development of ionizable, amphiphilic, dendrimer-based nanomaterials for RNA delivery to vascular endothelial cells will be examined. Then, these materials' utility in the treatment of vascular disease and cancer will be explored. The second half of this talk will examine the ways in which nanotechnology can be designed to deliver new self-amplifying nucleic acid payloads for vaccination applications. The steps taken to translate the needs of a multidisciplinary team of engineers, clinicians and immunologists into a vaccine platform will be highlighted, with special focus placed on the development of a rapid-response Ebola vaccine.
Bio-sketch: Dr. Omar F. Khan is currently a postdoctoral associate in the labs of Professors Robert Langer and Daniel G. Anderson at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Previously, while earning his B.A.Sc. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto, he completed a year-long work term at a petrochemical refinery. After receiving the Society of Chemical Industry Merit Award, he completed his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Professor Michael V. Sefton. As a graduate student, he studied the effect of implant surface chemistry on the progression of the fibrotic response. He also developed and built new technologies for the rapid bottom-up assembly of vascularized tissues. As a postdoctoral associate, Omar has created new nanomaterials for targeted RNA delivery in the body, developed a fully synthetic vaccine system using customized nanotechnology platforms and has synthesized new angiogenesis-inducing biomedical polymers for transplantation therapies. Omar spends his free time biking, swimming and travelling.