In the Swingle lab, we apply engineering, biomaterials science, and drug delivery principles towards the design and evaluation of translation-focused therapeutic and prophylactic technologies. This includes a range of delivery technologies such as ionizable lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, drug conjugates, and more. In an effort to iteratively design novel drug delivery platforms with improved safety and efficacy, we perform investigations to understand mechanism of action along the series of steps that describe the in vivo fate of a nanoparticle therapeutic.

Capitalizing on their recent regulatory approval, we also employ nucleic acid therapeutics including messenger RNA (mRNA), small interfering RNA (siRNA), plasmid DNA, microRNA (miRNA) as well as emerging cargoes such as circular RNA and self-amplifying RNA that can enable more durable gene modulation. We use bioengineering design principles to consider (1) the therapeutic application of interest, (2) the genetic pathology of the disorder, (3) the target tissue and cell type, and (4) the appropriate therapeutic payload to increase protein expression or induce gene knockdown and knockout.