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., 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)