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Mentor Areas

Biopharmaceuticals (protein drugs) are unaffordable for a large majority of the global population. Their annual cost ($150 billion) exceeds GDP of >75% of countries and one-third of the global population earn <$2 per day. In addition to pricing policies and limited competition, PD production in expensive fermenters ($500-900 million), purification, cold storage/ transportation, short shelf life and injectable delivery contribute to their prohibitive cost. Complexity of production/delivery processes dramatically increase cost of regulatory approval. Therefore, a revolutionary new platform for production and delivery of PDs has been developed to address these concerns. This involves insertion of human genes into lettuce chloroplast genomes (10,000 copies per cell) for their hyper-expression (>70% of leaf protein is insulin). Biomass is produced in a FDA approved robotic facility (Fraunhofer USA, Wilmington DE) and freeze dried. Powdered dried cells are packaged into capsules/tablets, with pre-determined drug dose. PDs are stable for >3 years in capsules, eliminating cost of cold storage or transportation and injections. Upon oral delivery, plant cell wall protects PDs from stomach acids or enzymes. Commensal bacteria digest plant cell wall and release PDs in gut lumen. Tags fused to PDs facilitate their entry across the gut epithelium and PDs are delivered to blood or the immune system. This platform is agnostic to diseases or indications. The proof-of concept has been demonstrated to treat major metabolic or genetic disorders, including Alzheimer’s, diabetes, hypertension, hemophilia and retinopathy. Booster vaccines to prevent global infectious diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, cholera, polio and biological threats, such as anthrax and plague.

Description:

Our lab projects are designed based on the course work and other experiences a student has.  Students will work with post-doctoral fellows until they gain independence.

Preferred Qualifications

Safety training and lab courses in biological science or microbiology or chemistry

Details:

Preferred Student Year

First-year, Second-Year, Junior, Senior

Project Academic Year

2023–2024

Volunteer

Yes

Paid

Yes

Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.

Work Study

Yes

Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.