Jordan Green, professor in the Biomedical Engineering (BME) department and head of the Biomaterials and Drug Delivery Laboratory, carries out research which focuses on aspects of controlled drug delivery, stem cells, gene therapy and immunoengineering.
Researchers and students in Green’s lab are actively trying to understand the complex mechanisms behind how to make cells perform certain functions that can then be engineered. This primarily involves the pathway to delivering instructions inside the cells.
For example, Green studies how nucleic acids, DNA or bacterial small RNA (sRNA) can function to turn on or off certain target genes despite being biodegradable materials. Nucleic acids interact with cells through surface receptors in order to direct target cells to function in a particular way.
“Our lab creates particles called artificial antigen presenting cells, which are named because they appear to the body as cells that present a certain type of antigen which can activate the immune system to recognize the antigen and take subsequent actions,” Green said.
An antigen is a foreign substance that calls for an immune response in the body. Some cells have overexpression of a particular receptor or molecule, which can often be a red flag that might signal the proliferation of cancerous cells.”
Green’s team has investigated two major cellular engineering techniques. Scientists can either engineer cells from inside out to deliver nucleic acid instructions or outside in by engaging receptors on the cell that resemble a biomimetic surface. The ultimate goal of these executions in the lab is to design particles whose surfaces can accurately mimic those of biological cells.
In addition to the handful of undergraduate researchers and postdocs in his lab, Green also collaborates with other groups in the BME department and on the medical campus on various ongoing projects.
For example, Green works with Dr. Henry Brem in a neurosurgery lab and Dr. John Laterra at the Kennedy Krieger Institute to design nucleic acid therapies for brain cancer. Green’s team also engages in an immunotherapy project in collaboration with Jonathan Schneck from the pathology department.
Green said that he is very appreciative of the opportunity to interact with and work alongside clinicians that have direct experience with patients. Currently, Green’s lab consists of one or two Ph.D. graduate students a year, a small number of postdocs and around 10 undergraduate researchers.
When asked about what standards and expectations he wants to set for his lab, Green said that he has ambitious visions for the future of the research team. Specifically, his team wants to discover the nuances behind how materials interact with cells, such as how the size and shape of artificial cells are important to the interactions with other cellular and biological systems.
The lab is also in the process of synthesizing new polymers, nanoparticles and microparticles that can be used to characterize cell functions in animal models.
Ultimately, the long-term aim of Green’s lab is to develop new technologies that can help impact human health. Green enthusiastically elaborated on his project that strives to prevent blindness and age-related macular degeneration. He pursues this project alongside Dr. Peter Campochiaro at the Wilmer Eye Institute.
“A lot of the things we do in research are all very exciting for me, so it’s really hard to pick a favorite,” Green said. “But I think the frontier in immunoengineering is very exciting, as well as the tissue engineering branch connected to BME. We’ve also recently created a startup company called AsclepiX Therapeutics.”
AsclepiX Therapeutics is developing a method to improve eye disease treatment, such as alleviating the symptoms of macular edema, which frequently occurs among people with diabetes and can eventually lead to blindness.
Green is looking forward to the future turnout of the company, because he is eager to see his research serve a more practical purpose outside of the laboratory.
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