POLY/PMSE seminar with Dr. Natalie Boehnke

Seminar title: "An integrative approach to nanomedicine: new tools for drug delivery"

Abstract:
Nanoparticle translation to the clinic is lacking in large part due to limited accumulation in tumor sites. This can be attributed to the complexity and heterogeneity of both the biological environment and the nanoparticle constructs, making it prohibitively challenging to deconvolute individual factors that contribute to nanoparticle trafficking and accumulation. We have developed integrated screening approaches to gain a holistic understanding of both the nanomaterials properties and biological features mediating successful drug delivery. By leveraging combinatorial libraries of polymer and lipid-based nanoparticles and pooled cell screening, we can begin to establish structure-function relationships at the nano-bio interface. In this talk, I will describe our nanoparticle library design and synthesis and the results from our integrated screens, which indicate that matching nanoparticle properties and cellular phenotypes is much more critical for targeted delivery than previously thought.

Bio:
Natalie Boehnke received her B.S. in chemistry from Purdue University in 2012. Natalie then obtained her Ph.D. in organic and polymer chemistry from UCLA in 2017, working with Prof. Heather Maynard on the synthesis and characterization of biodegradable hydrogels and nanogels. After graduation, Natalie joined Prof. Paula Hammond’s group at MIT to develop toolsets to integrate biology and engineering approaches for accelerated translation of nanomedicine. During her postdoc, Natalie received a Department of Defense Horizon Award and NIH/NCI K99 Pathway to Independence Award for her work. She joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota in summer 2022, where her group uses high throughput screening and machine learning to understand how biological heterogeneity affects nanoparticle delivery and efficacy.