Emmanuel Ho

The HoResearchGroup is interested in the development and characterization of innovative drug delivery strategies including nanomedicines, medical devices and biomaterials for the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, cancer, and chronic wound healing.

• Drug delivery and pharmaceutics

• Nanomedicine, medical devices, biomaterials

• 3D Printing, hot-melt injection molding

• HIV\/AIDS, cancer, chronic wound healing

• Clinical Pharmacology

• Technology and Optics

• Drug Discovery, Design and Delivery

• Disease Detection and Modeling

• Smart Materials

• AI assisted Materials Development

• Thernostic Materials

• Biochemistry and Biophysics

• Bionanotechnology and Biosensors

• Devices and Analytical Methods

• Smart and Functional Materials

• Molecular Therapeutics and Theranostics

• Nanomaterials

• Biomaterials, Polymers and Bioplastics

The HoResearchGroup uses an interdisciplinary approach to develop strategies for the imaging, treatment, and prevention of diseases. This involves the fabrication and characterization of innovative biomaterials for drug delivery systems such as nanoparticles, medical devices, biodegradable films, hydrogels, etc. Trainees in the HoResearchGroup will become experts in various fields including pharmaceutical sciences, bioengineering, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, and chemistry.

• CIHR/MSFHR Post-Doctoral Fellow, British Columbia Cancer Research Center

• Ph.D., University of Toronto

• Hons.B.Sc., University of Toronto

• 2016-2021 Leslie F. Buggey Professorship

• 2015 Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada (AFPC) New Investigator Research Award

• 2015 Gattefosse Canada/CSPS Award in Lipid-Based Drug Delivery

• 2014 GlaxoSmithKline/Canadian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences (GSK/CSPS) Early Career Award

• 2013 Rh Award for Excellence in Research (Interdisciplinary Category)

• 2008-2009 Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) Post-Doctoral Fellowship

• 2007-2009 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Post-Doctoral Fellowship

• 2007 Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award

• 2005-2007 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Industrial Post-Graduate Scholarship

• 2005-2006 Ontario Graduate (Ph.D.) Scholarship (OGS)

• 2015-2017 President, Canadian Chapter of the Controlled Release Society (CC-CRS)

• 2016-2017 Invited Guest Editor, Drug Delivery and Translational Research, 2016-present Associate Editor, Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences

• 2015 Chair, Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences (CSPS) / Canadian Chapter of the Controlled Release Society, Session: “Mucosal Drug Delivery”.

• 2014-2015 Secretary, Canadian Chapter of the Controlled Release Society (CC-CRS), 2013-2015 Member, Controlled Release Society Young Scientist Committee

• Canadian Chapter of the Controlled Release Society (CC-CRS)

• Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences (CSPS)

• 2017-present, Member, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology

• PHARM 124 - Pharmaceutics 1
  • Taught in 2020
• PHARM 232 - Medical Microbiology
  • Taught in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
• PHARM 602 - Grant Writing in the Sciences
  • Taught in 2022
• PHARM 610 - Topics in Drug Development
  • Taught in 2023

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Autophagy induction and PDGFR-β knockdown by siRNA-encapsulated nanoparticles reduce chlamydia trachomatis infection. Yang S, Traore Y, Jimenez C, Ho EA. Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 4;9(1):1306. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-36601-y. PMID: 30718536

• Design and development of pH-responsive polyurethane membranes for intravaginal release of nanomedicines. Kim S, Traore YL, Ho EA, Shafiq M, Kim SH, Liu S. Acta Biomater. 2018 Dec;82:12-23. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2018.10.003. Epub 2018 Oct 6. PMID: 30296620

• Current State of Microbicide Development. Traore YL, Chen Y, Ho EA. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2018 Dec;104(6):1074-1081. doi: 10.1002/cpt.1212. Epub 2018 Sep 24. PMID: 30107032

• Using safe, affordable and accessible non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the number of HIV target cells in the blood and at the female genital tract. Lajoie J, Birse K, Mwangi L, Chen Y, Cheruiyot J, Akolo M, Mungai J, Boily-Larouche G, Romas L, Mutch S, Kimani M, Oyugi J, Ho EA, Burgener A, Kimani J, Fowke KR. J Int AIDS Soc. 2018 Jul;21(7):e25150. doi: 10.1002/jia2.25150. PMID: 30047573

• Implant delivering hydroxychloroquine attenuates vaginal T lymphocyte activation and inflammation. Chen Y, Traore YL, Yang S, Lajoie J, Fowke KR, Rickey DW, Ho EA. J Control Release. 2018 May 10;277:102-113. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2018.03.010. Epub 2018 Mar 13. PMID: 29545105

• A new strategy for battling bacterial resistance: Turning potent, non-selective and potentially non-resistance-inducing biocides into selective ones. Ghanbar S, Fumakia M, Ho EA, Liu S. Nanomedicine. 2018 Feb;14(2):471-481. doi: 10.1016/j.nano.2017.11.014. Epub 2017 Nov 26. PMID: 29183863