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Overview

 

The Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery’s mission is:

  1. To discover and apply nanotechnology and advanced drug-delivery systems to decrease the failure rate of new, active pharmaceutical ingredients, biotherapeutic agents and vaccines;
  2. To integrate nanotechnology-based therapeutics with imaging and diagnostics to create “theranostic” interventions;
  3. To help translate safe and efficient new therapeutic and imaging agents from bench to bedside to improve human health. CNDD unifies existing diverse technical and scientific expertise in biomaterial sciences and engineering, polymer chemistry, nanofabrication, pharmaceutical chemistry, formulation science, and nanotoxicology through its interdisciplinary drug delivery and nanomedicine program.

CNDD unifies existing diverse technical and scientific expertise in biomaterial sciences and engineering, polymer chemistry, nanofabrication, pharmaceutical chemistry, formulation science, and nanotoxicology through its interdisciplinary drug delivery and nanomedicine program.

CNDD’s research focuses on treatment of cancer, stroke, neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders (such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s), nerve agent and pesticide poisoning and other diseases and injuries. It provides a foundation for synergistic research that translates into clinical benefits for diseases and injuries with limited or no current treatment options, while developing a “visionary” area of science in which the state of North Carolina is a world leader.

CNDD’s goals are:

To discover and apply nanotechnology and advanced drug-delivery systems to decrease the failure rate of new APIs, biotherapeutic agents and vaccines caused by poor absorption, or distribution, significant drug toxicity, and rapid metabolism or excretion. To integrate nanotechnology-based therapeutics with imaging and diagnostics to create “theranostic” interventions. To facilitate the translation of new molecular-entity discoveries into human clinical trials.

CNDD’s objectives are:

  • Development of a strong cadre of productive CNDD researchers who have the ability to obtain resources to sustain the Center through:
    • Successful mentoring of junior investigators,
    • Identifying potential new faculty recruits,
    • Assisting the recruitment and development of new CNDD faculty members who have strong potential to make impactful contributions to the Center’s area of focus.
  • Development of a robust and diversified research portfolio in order to sustain a growing research program in its focus area in the highly competitive landscape for federal funding.
  • Development of, implementation of and active participation in new research initiatives, pilot projects and major proposals including Program Project–sized grants and other program funding through the NIH or other agencies with potentially high impact.
  • Development and implementation of strategies to increase funding success rates and to better position its faculty members for success through a strong, cross-disciplinary program in drug delivery and nanomedicine (e.g., roundtable discussions, grants-in-development sessions, mock reviews).
  • Development of productive research collaborations and partnerships across several schools, institutes, and centers on the UNC campus, as well as other universities and institutions across the State.
  • Enhancement of the UNC research infrastructure by developing and supporting new research core facilities in its focus areas, development and maintenance of state-of-art instrumentation and services that advance the research of CNDD faculty members and make impactful contributions to the research enterprise overall.
  • Development of formal partnerships and collaborative agreements with other institutions, the submission of consortia proposals (e.g., cooperative grants with industry), the submission of proposals with key partners in support of the initiatives of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
  • Enhancement of the visibility and the national and international reputation of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in the CNDD research focus area through:
    • Organization of and support for national and international conferences such as the annual International Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium (NanoDDS) and the International Symposium on Frontiers in Biomedical Polymers
    • Research and education, or development workshops such as the Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop.