May 27, 2022
Three members of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics (DPMP) faculty are recipients of Controlled Release Society Awards.
Kristy Ainslie, Ph.D. and Leaf Huang, Ph.D., were honored with the Society’s College of Fellows Award. The distinction recognizes exceptional individuals in the field of controlled release who have made outstanding sustained contributions to science and technology.
“It’s an honor to be included among all these amazing and accomplished scientists and engineers. This accomplishment could not have been achieved without the help of my outstanding students, post doc, lab staff, and colleagues,” Ainslie said.
Ainslie is a Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor and chair of DPMP. She works to develop new immune-modulatory therapies that treat and prevent infectious and autoimmune diseases. Her research interests include the development of new polymers for vaccines, formulation of antigen specific therapies to treat autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes, host directed therapies for treatment of multi-drug resistant infections, and electrospun scaffolds for glioblastoma treatment.
Huang added that he “is honored to be elected as a Fellow.” Huang is a Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor who conducts research on liposomes and immunoliposomes for drug delivery. Huang is a co-principal investigator of Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, one of the six centers funded by National Cancer Institute.
Alexander V. Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., is this year’s recipient of the Society’s Founders Award. The Controlled Release Society grants this honor to a current society member who is internationally recognized for their outstanding contributions in the science and technology of controlled release.
“Totally humbled and honored to receive this very significant award of the Controlled Release Society. I’m very grateful to all students and colleagues behind our successes, as well as faculty and leadership in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center for their exceptional support,” Kabanov said.
Kabanov is the Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professor, director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and co-director of the Carolina Institute for Nanomedicine at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Throughout his career, he has conducted pioneering research in the nanomedicine field including the use of polymeric micelles, DNA/polycation complexes, block ionomer complexes, nanogels, nanoparticle-macrophage carriers and exosomes for delivery of small drugs, nucleic acids and polypeptides to treat cancers and diseases of the central nervous system. He co-invented the first polymeric micelle drug to enter clinical trials to treat cancer and has been instrumental in the establishment of polymeric micelles as nanotechnology used in clinically approved and marketed products.
The three faculty members will be recognized at the Controlled Release Society’s Annual Meeting in July. Kabanov will present “The Founders Award Lecture” during the meeting.
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