Alexander V. Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci.
Director, Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery
Mescal Swain Ferguson Distinguished Professor, Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery
Adjunct Professor, UNC Department of Biomedical Engineering

kabanov@email.unc.edu
ADDRESS
125 Mason Farm Road, Marsico Hall, CB# 7362, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7362
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Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., is the Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professor and 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 the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kabanov graduated from M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) in 1984, where he also received Ph.D. in 1987 and D.Sc. in 1990. He started scientific career in Soviet Union and continued it in United States first, in the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska (1994-2012) where he founded the first academic nanomedicine center in the United States (2004-), and then in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2012-).
Kabanov 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 establishment of polymeric micelles as nanotechnology used in clinically approved and marketed products. Kabanov holds 34 United States patents and over 50 foreign patents. He co-founded several companies focusing on therapies of cancers and diseases of the central nervous system.
Kabanov has published more than 300 scientific papers and his work has been cited over 29,000 times (Hirsch index 91 as of January 2018). He was named the Thomson Reuters 2014 Highly Cited Researcher in pharmacology and toxicology and 2016 Clarivate Analytics Russian Highly Cited Researcher in Life Sciences. His cumulative research support in academia as principal investigator has been more than $54 million. His inventions have attracted over $60 million in private, foundation, and company-sponsored R&D funding in industry. He has founded in 2003 the first nanomedicine symposium series in the United States, NanoDDS (held annually since then), organized the annual industry-academia Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop (since 2016). He co-chaired and chaired Gordon Research Conferences “Drug Carriers in Medicine and Biology” (2006) and “Cancer Nanotechnology” (2017).
Kabanov was a founder and director of the NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (CoBRE) “Nebraska Center for Nanomedicine” (2008-2012), and is a Director of NCI’s T32 Carolina Cancer Nanotechnology Training Program. As of January 2018 he has trained 35 graduate students and 30 postdoctoral scientists, of whom 13 have become faculty members. Kabanov is a recipient of a Megagrant from Russian Government (2010-2014) and professor at MSU where he has established a laboratory with the Megagrant support. He is a member of the Science Council of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation (2015-present), was a chair of the NIH Biomaterials and Biointerfaces Study Section (2006-2008) and has served in a number of other major advisory roles for sciences in the United States and abroad.
Courses
PHCY 512: Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Systems
MOPH 862: Advanced Physical Pharmacy
MOPH 864: Advanced Drug Delivery
MOPH 738: Nanomedicine
Office Hours
By appointment only
2018 | Fellow, Controlled Release Society |
Life Sciences Award, Triangle Business Journal | |
2017 | Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (NAI) |
George Gamow Award | |
2016 | RUSNANOPRIZE Short List |
2015 | Dresden Senior Fellow |
2014 | Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering |
2013 | Member, Academia Europaea (The Academy of Europe) |
2010 | 2010 Russian MegaGrant |
2009 UNMC Scientist Laureate | |
2007 | University of Nebraska ORCA Award |
1995 | NSF CAREER Award |
1988 | Lenin Komsomol Prize |
Highly Cited Researcher: Thompson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics – Pharmacology & Toxicology (2014, 2018), Life Sciences/Russian (2016)
- CAROLINA CANCER NANOTECHNOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAM (C-CNTP)
- Targeted Magneto-Mechanic Nanotherapeutics for Cancer
- PEGylated Liposomal Doxorubicin and Pluronic Combination for Cancer Therapy
- Targeted Core Shell Nanogels for Triple Negative Breast Cancer
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Huang, Kabanov and Roth Recognized for Research Influence
Three faculty members from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy were recognized on the Clarivate Analytics list of Highly Cited Researchers for 2018. Leaf Huang, Ph.D., Alexander Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., and Bryan Roth, Ph.D., M.D., were among 6,000 scientists worldwide … Continued
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Kabanov Named President of Russian-American Scientists Association
Alexander Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., assumed office as president of the Russian-American Scientists Association (RASA-America) on Nov. 5. Kabanov is the Mescal S. Ferguson Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and … Continued
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Kabanov Elected 2018 Controlled Release Society Fellow
Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr. Sci., has been selected for membership in the College of Fellows of the Controlled Release Society for his “outstanding contributions to the field of delivery science and technology.” Kabanov will be inducted into the college … Continued
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Kabanov Receives TBJ Life Sciences Award
Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr. Sci., is a recipient of a 2018 Life Sciences Award from the Triangle Business Journal. Kabanov was nominated in the category of Outstanding Individual Research from Universities or Research Institutes. The award was presented at … Continued
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Third Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop Shares Discoveries in Nanomedicine
From March 12 to 16, scientists from industry and academia came together at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy to learn about the latest advances in nanomedicine and to get hands-on experience with advanced nanoformulations at the third annual Carolina … Continued
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Kabanov to Lead Russian-American Science Society
Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., is the president-elect of the Russian-American Science Association. Kabanov was elected to his new post at the organization’s annual meeting at Northwestern University in Chicago on Nov. 4 and 5, where he also received the … Continued
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Kabanov Elected to National Academy of Inventors
Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., Mescal Swaim Feruguson Distinguished Professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the organization announced Tuesday. Kabanov is the director of the School’s Center … Continued
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Kabanov Meets with President of Armenia
Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., met with the president of Armenia on Nov. 8 as part of a group of participants in the second All-Armenian Scientific Conference held in the capital city of Yerevan on November 5-8. The delegation consisted of … Continued
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Postdoc Elizabeth Wayne Reflects on TED Experience
Elizabeth Wayne, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow studying how immune cells can be used to fight cancer, gave a TED talk on the main stage at TED 2017 in Vancouver, Canada. Wayne was announced as a TED fellow in January 2017. … Continued
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Yuhang Jiang Wins UNC Grad School Impact Award
Yuhang Jiang, Ph.D., a December 2016 graduate of the pharmaceutical sciences doctoral program at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, has received a 2017 Horizon Award from the UNC Graduate School for his research into a treatment to repair the … Continued
- 1984 – 1987: Candidate of Chemical Sciences (PhD equivalent) in Chemical Kinetics and Catalysis at Moscow State University
- 1979 – 1984: Diploma with distinction (MS equivalent) in Chemistry at Moscow State University