Dr. David Zaharoff - New Biomedical Engineering Faculty Member
Research Interests
The overall goal of our research is to develop innovative, translatable vaccine and immunotherapy delivery platforms that will have high clinical impact in an immediate timeframe. Because rapid translation is the objective, the overall strategy of my research is to first identify a particular delivery obstacle or disease target and then design one or more specific translatable solutions. These solutions often exploit biomaterials or technologies that are either FDA-approved or currently being evaluated in clinical trials. Such an approach requires a multi-disciplinary skill set that utilizes aspects of biomaterials, transport phenomena, immunology, nanotechnology, chemistry, physics, engineering and biology as well as knowledge of clinical practices and regulatory aspects of clinical trial design.
The majority of our research has focused on the development of soluble chitosan-based delivery systems for vaccines and immunotherapies. We were the first to demonstrate that: 1) chitosan solution is a novel adjuvant for subcutaneous vaccination with recombinant protein antigen, inactivated viruses or yeast constructs containing antigen; 2) chitosan solution is capable of maintaining a depot and enhancing the immunoadjuvant properties of recombinant cytokines; and 3) chitosan/cytokine formulations can eradicate aggressively growing, transplantable murine tumors. This latest finding is being pursued for clinical translation at the National Cancer Institute. Although the immediate target of these delivery platforms has been cancer, we are broadening our focus to target substance abuse, infectious diseases and biodefense initiatives. We look forward to establishing long-lasting collaborations with investigators and clinicians at UAMS and the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.
Another thrust of our research is the development of pathogen mimicking particulate vaccines. Because the human immune system has evolved to respond to particulate pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria, it makes sense to develop a vaccine platform which mimics these pathogens without the danger of infectivity or replication. Our first generation particulate vaccines demonstrate efficient antigen encapsulation and enhanced antigen uptake and processing by immune cells. Future generations will build upon these findings to add complexity, including multiple agent-releasing layers, to our particulate vaccines.
An underlying objective of our research is to understand the interaction between biomaterials and the immune system. There are hundreds of different biomaterials and each causes a unique immune response. It is important for us to understand the nature and the reason for these immune responses so that we can design new biomaterials or engineering existing biomaterials to accomplish a specific goal.
Laboratory for Vaccine and Immunotherapy Delivery (LVID)
The LVID is housed in the Engineering Research Center (ENRC). The laboratory contains a satellite animal room, tissue culture suite, flow cytometry/microscopy suite as well as the state-of-the-art in biomedical resources spread out over 1900 square feet of lab space.
Dr. David Zaharoff - New Biomedical Engineering Faculty Member
