Prof. Balaji Narasimhan's Talk

Sep 03, 2013 - 17:00

Sep 03, 2013 - 18:00

Lecture Hall Complex LCH 32

Seminars

Prof. Balaji Narasimhan Vlasta Klima Balloun Professor Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Iowa State University

Abstract: The design of vaccines and therapeutics to address infectious diseases is fraught with challenges ranging from the need for cold storage to poor immunogenicity to the need for multiple doses to the need for needle-based methods that require medical professionals to administer. In this talk I will describe a cross-disciplinary approach at the intersection of nanotechnology polymer chemistry and immunology for the molecular design of a safe needle-free and efficacious nanoparticle-based platform that can address these challenges and can provide a robust technology to address both pre- and post-exposure to respiratory pathogens. These biodegradable nanoparticles are based on amphiphilic polyanhydrides which degrade by hydrolytic cleavage of the anhydride bond. We have shown using a bottom-up approach that vaccine adjuvants based on amphiphilic polyanhydride nanoparticles are capable of mimicking a natural infection and inducing a robust immune response with long-lived protection against a subsequent challenge. The nanoparticles possess the unique ability to mimic pathogens with respect to persisting within and activating immune cells as well as rapidly distributing to tissue sites distal to the site of administration. Furthermore these particles can be targeted for uptake by immune cells by functionalizing their surface with carbohydrates enabling more efficient delivery of antigen to dendritic cells and macrophages. Our studies have shown that the nanoparticles are safe when administered via multiple routes – intranasal subcutaneous and intramuscular. These particles are stable at high temperature for extended periods of time obviating the “cold chain” which is a major hurdle in the deployment of vaccines to remote regions of the globe. The nanoparticles can be designed to encapsulate fragile protein antigens and deliver them in a sustained manner to immune cells facilitating the maintenance of antigen-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells. We have demonstrated that these nanovaccines confer full protection in a single intranasal dose ten months prior to lethal challenge by several respiratory pathogens. Additionally these particles can be used for effective intracellular delivery of antibiotics in a single administration which results in lower toxicity enhanced patient compliance dose sparing and cost savings. This rational approach for designing novel amphiphilic materials as nanoscale adjuvants and therapeutics has the tantalising potential to catalyze the development of next generation technologies against emerging and re-emerging diseases.About the Speaker: Balaji Narasimhan is the Vlasta Klima Balloun Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU). He has been at ISU since 2001 before which he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers University. In 2006-07 he served as Director of the Institute for Combinatorial Discovery at ISU which is a cross-disciplinary research center consisting of more than 50 faculty members. He served as the Associate Dean of Research in the ISU College of Engineering from 2007 to 2013 and oversaw record growths in the college’s research portfolio and doctoral degree production. Narasimhan’s research is focused on the molecular design of nanoscale polymer systems and biomaterials to precisely control molecular architecture and functionality in these systems. His research has received funding (in excess of $32 million) from NSF NIH DOD DOE USDA the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation the Whitaker foundation the Roy J. Carver Foundation the W.M. Keck Foundation the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation and industry. His current research thrusts are in the areas of engineered biomaterials for controlled delivery of drugs peptides and vaccines nanoscale manipulation of multiphase polymeric materials bio-inspired materials nanoparticles and combinatorial materials science. Narasimhan has published over 115 refereed articles four patents three textbooks and delivered over 300 invited and contributed national and international lectures. He has won various awards including the Best Doctoral Dissertation in Mathematics Physical Sciences and Engineering at Purdue University the Whitaker Foundation Biomedical Engineering Research Award and the 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award. He is an elected Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2003 he was named as one of the world’s top 100 young innovators by MIT’s Technology Review Magazine with the TR-100 Award. He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (India) in 1992 and a Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1996. He completed his postdoctoral work at MIT.