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
PHONEkabanov@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., D.Sc., 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 began his academic journey at M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), where he graduated in 1984. He continued his studies at the same institution, earning a Ph.D. in 1987 and a D.Sc. in 1990. His scientific career took root in the Soviet Union and later transitioned to the United States. From 1994 to 2012, Kabanov was affiliated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. During his tenure there, he established the first academic nanomedicine center in the United States in 2004.
In 2012, Kabanov moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where his research focuses on several key areas.
- Polymeric Micelles: Kabanov co-developed the first polymeric micelle drug that entered clinical trials for cancer treatment, thereby establishing polymeric micelles as a clinically approved drug delivery platform.
- Polyplexes: Kabanov was among the first to use polycations and later, cationic block copolymers for delivering nucleic acids into cells. He evaluated core-shell polyelectrolyte complexes of nucleic acids and polypeptides, now known as “polyplexes”, for therapeutic drug and gene delivery.
- Nanogels, Nanoparticle-Macrophage Carriers, and Exosomes: These have been utilized for delivering small drugs, nucleic acids, and polypeptides to treat cancers and diseases of the central nervous system.
Kabanov is a highly cited researcher, with over 340 scientific papers (garnering over 50,000 citations, and a Google h-index greater than 115), 36 US patents, and has co-founded several pharmaceutical companies. His cumulative research support in academia has been over $120 million.
Kabanov has mentored more than 80 graduate students and postdocs, half of whom are women and underrepresented minorities. Nineteen past members of Kabanov laboratory hold faculty appointments. He is the director of the NCI’s T32 training program in Cancer Nanotechnology.
Kabanov also established symposium series in nanomedicine and drug delivery, chaired Gordon Research Conferences, and received numerous honors and awards, including the Lenin Komsomol Prize, NSF Career award, George Gamow award, and the Controlled Release Society (CRS) Founders award.
Kabanov is an elected member or fellow of prestigious academies and organizations, including Academia Europaea, Russian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Inventors, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and CRS. He has served as the past President and current CEO of the Russian American Science Association, director-at-large for CRS (2019-2022), and chair of the CRS College of Fellows sub-committee (2022-2023).
Education, Certification and Licensure
- 1990: Doctor of Chemical Sciences (D.Sc.) in Chemical Kinetics and Catalysis and Biochemistry at Moscow State University
- 1984 – 1987: Candidate of Chemical Sciences (Ph.D. equivalent) in Chemical Kinetics and Catalysis at Moscow State University
- 1979 – 1984: Diploma with distinction (M.S. equivalent) in Chemistry at Moscow State University
Courses and Lectures
Courses
DPMP 862/863 “Special Topics in Advanced Pharmaceutics” 3 cr.
Office Hours
By appointment only
Current Projects
- Carolina Cancer Nanotechnology Training Program (C-CNTP)
- Towards Translation of Nanoformulated Paclitaxel-Platinum Combination
- Extracellular Vesicles for CNS Delivery of Therapeutic Enzymes to Treat Lysosomal Storage Disorders
- Cell-based Platform for Gene Delivery to the Brain
Honors and Awards
| 2022 | Founders Award, The Controlled Release Society |
| 2021 | Fellow, American Association for Advancement of Science |
| 2019 | Corresponding member, Russian Academy of Sciences |
| 2018 | Fellow, Controlled Release Society |
| Life Sciences Award, Triangle Business Journal | |
| 2017 | Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (NAI) |
| RASA 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 | 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, 2021)
News
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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 … Read more
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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 … Read more
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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 … Read more
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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 … Read more
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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 … Read more
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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 … Read more
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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 … Read more
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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 … Read more
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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. … Read more
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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 … Read more