The mission of the Pannier Lab is to train the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists and engineers through world-class research on the development of innovative new technologies, the identification of their basic design principles, and their application to biomedical problems with high clinical and societal significance.
The long-term goal of the Pannier Lab is to understand and design innovative biomaterials and nucleic acid delivery systems to advance gene and cell therapies, vaccination strategies, and fundamental understanding of embryology and tissue development. Research projects within the Pannier Lab are focused in three different themes: i) gene delivery to stem cells, ii) tissue engineering models, and iii) engineering extracellular vesicles.
- Within the gene delivery to stem cells theme, our aim is to determine and understand the mechanisms that render stem cells responsive to the successful transfer of genetic material (e.g. DNA, mRNA, siRNA), concentrating on the cell microenvironment, the interaction between cells and biomaterials, and the intracellular processes and subsequent signaling involved during nonviral gene delivery. Within this theme we have identified environments and pharmaceutical agents that can prime stem cells to enhance gene delivery outcomes.
- Within the tissue engineering models theme, our aim is to develop biomaterial scaffolds and culture systems to understand and promote tissue, organ, and organism development and growth. We have demonstrated organized architecture of chondrocytes for growth plate cartilage, and have uniquely applied tissue engineering scaffolds for the culture of pig embryos to understand how to improve litter size and synchrony in pork production.
- Within the engineering extracellular vesicles theme, our aim to make use of cell-based and physical methods to load both mammalian and bacterial extracellular vesicles with nucleic acid cargo for gene therapies and vaccine applications. We have developed a transgenic system that when transfected into mammalian cells allows for endogenous loading of miRNA into extracellular vesicles, while exploring physical methods to load plasmid DNA into bacterial outer membrane vesicles as an oral delivery platform.
The technologies and approaches developed in the Pannier Lab provide valuable insights to the fields of gene delivery and biomaterials, with promising potential for future scientific discovery and translation to therapeutic, biotechnological, and tissue engineering applications.