Kristy Ainslie, Ph.D. applies her knowledge base in biomaterials, and immunology to develop new immune-modulatory therapies that treat and prevent infectious, and autoimmune diseases. Her lab aims to design practical and innovative formulations, taking into account the scalable production and applications in developing nations.
Drug Delivery: PhD Program
Cutting-edge research in drug development and delivery for students with backgrounds in engineering, chemistry, biochemistry, pharmacy and biology.
Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics (DPMP) offers a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences with two tracks: Molecular Pharmaceutics and Pharmacoengineering:
This Molecular Pharmaceutics Pharmaceutical Sciences Ph.D. track focuses on delivering and maintaining the desired amount of a therapeutic agent at the target site for a desired period of time through cutting-edge platforms. The development of therapeutic or vaccine delivery systems that accomplishes this is based on an understanding of their transport properties across biological barriers and subsequent biodistribution as well as the mechanism by which they are metabolized and eliminated. This discipline is crucial for turning a new molecular entity into a safe and effective medication.
This program focuses on many routes of administration, including oral, pulmonary, parenteral, percutaneous, and transmucosal. Additionally, we study platforms that include cell-based therapies, lipid and polymeric nanotechnology, exosomes, antibodies, and viral and non-viral vectors for gene therapy. We conduct multidisciplinary research using knowledge in:
- chemistry: physical-chemical aspects of drug molecules, polymer sciences, analytical chemistry,
- engineering: nanotechnology, biophysics, mass transport and thermodynamics of drug molecules
- biopharmaceutics: pharmacokinetics, drug metabolism.
- biochemistry: immunology, genetics, drug mechanism of action
- biology: cell and virus-based platforms, infectious diseases, neurology
From this program, students will understand drug delivery systems for new therapies and vaccines to improve human health. The majority of our Ph.D. students often find jobs in industry before graduation. Those who pursue an academic career usually spend a few more years as postdoctoral fellows at other institutions.
Watch a webinar on our PhD program in Pharmaceutical Sciences
This DPMP PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences program has an emphasis on pharmacoengineering, an emerging discipline that integrates engineering methods with pharmaceutical sciences. Pharmacoengineers apply the latest experimental approaches from life sciences, chemistry, and physics in conjunction with theoretical and quantitative methods from engineering, mathematics, and computer science to solve problems in medicine and drug therapies.
The program is among the first of its kind in the country and is a joint effort between the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics and the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.
Students work at the interface of engineering and pharmaceutical sciences to develop safer and more effective medicine and medical technologies. It provides students not only with a strong knowledge base in both pharmaceutical sciences and engineering, but also a highly interdisciplinary research experience. Students have the flexibility to work with any of more than two dozen outstanding faculty members with expertise in a variety of fields within pharmacy and engineering.
Our DPMP faculty is a highly collaborative and entrepreneurial group; they have applied 18 patents based on their research, and they have established seven new pharmaceutical and biotech companies in recent years. Several are members of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, which offers a wide array of core facilities that support their research activities.
- Minimum of 24 credits of coursework including elective courses, but excluding 1 credit for seminar.
- Participate in weekly seminar each semester. Students in their 3rd year have the opportunity to give a seminar each year. The final defense fulfills this requirement in the last year of study
- Research credit (i.e. lab rotation) or dissertation credit of at least 3 hours per semester
- Doctoral written and oral exam. The Qualifying Exam process (i.e, written and oral exam) is designed to assess the extent of the student’s knowledge acquired from course work in pharmaceutical science and test his or her ability to integrate and apply knowledge to practical problems.
- Dissertation and final defense
| Topic/Course | Credit | Course Number | Semester | |||
| Ethical Dilemmas | 1.25 | PHRS 801 | Fall | |||
| Nanomedicine | 3 | DPMP 738 | Spring | |||
| Advanced Pharmaceutics | 1.5 (total 3) | DPMP 862/890 | Spring, Fall | |||
| Advances in Drug Delivery | 3 | DPMP 864 | Fall | |||
| PK Module 1: Pharmacokinetics | 1.75 | DPET 853 | Fall | |||
| Biostatistics | 3 | BIOS 600 | Spring | |||
| Drug Metabolism Module | 1.5 | DPMP 815 | Spring | |||
| Math/Applied Math Elective | 3 | List below | ||||
| Engineering Elective | 3 | List below | ||||
| Seminar* | 1 | DPMP 899 | Fall, Spring | |||
| Research | 3 | DPMP 991 | Fall, Spring | |||
| Doctoral Dissertation | >3** | DPMP 994 | Fall, Spring | |||
| Electives | 6 |
* Students must register for seminar every semester in which they are in residence
** A minimum of 6 credit hours required for graduation; must be registered for at least 3 credit hours in the semester in which the final defense is conducted
Students are also required to take at least 9 credits of elective courses
Math Electives
- BMME 515 Biomathematical Modeling
- BMME 530 Digital Signal Processing I
- BMME 775 Image Processing and Analysis
- BMME 730 Digital Signal Processing II
- BMME 860 Numerical Methods for Biomedical Engineering
- MATH 528 Mathematical Methods for the Physical Sciences
- MATH 535 Introduction to Probability
- MATH 547 Linear Algebra for Applications
- MATH 564 Math Modeling
- MATH 566 Introduction to Numerical Analysis
- MATH 577 Linear Algebra
- MATH 661 Scientific Computation
- MATH 768 Mathematical Modeling I
Engineering Electives
- BMME 890 Bio Transport 3 credits
- BMME 465 Biomedical Instrumentation I
- BMME 532 Microelectrode Techniques
- BMME 530 Digital Signal Processing
- COMP 665 Images, Graphics and Vision
- BMME 550 Medical Imaging: Ultrasound, MRI and Optical
- BMME 560 Medical Imaging: X-ray, CT and Nuclear
- BMME 551 Medical Device Design
- BMME 580 Microcontroller Applications I
- BMME 515 Introduction to Systems Biology
- BMME 510 Biomaterials
- BMME 505 Biomechanics
- GNET 711-717 (3 x 1 credit) Bioinformatics
Suggested Electives
- BIOC 643 Cell Structure, Function, and Growth Control I (2). Fall.
- BIOC 644 Cell Structure, Function, and Growth Control II (2) Spring.
- BIOC 651 Macromolecular Equilibria: Conformation Change and Binding(1). Fall.
- BMME 890 Biotechnology (3)
- BMME 515 Introduction to Systems Biology (3)
- BMME 510 Biomaterials (3)
- BMME 790 Graduate Systems Physiology (3 )
- CHEM 430 Introduction to Biological Chemistry (3). Fall and Spring.
- CHEM 431 Macromolecular Structure and Metabolism (3). Spring.
- CHEM 432 Metabolic Chemistry and Cellular Regulatory Networks (3). . Fall.
- CHEM 466 Advanced Organic Chemistry I (3). Fall.
- CHEM 467 Advanced Organic Chemistry II (2). Spring.
- CHEM 480 Introduction to Biophysical Chemistry (3). Fall.
- CHEM 481 Physical Chemistry I (3). Fall and Spring.
- PHCO701 Introduction to Molecular Pharmacology (2). Fall.
- PHCO702 Principles of Pharmacology and Physiology (3). Spring.
- MCRO614 Immunobiology (3) Fall.
- NC State BEC 475 Global Regulatory Affairs for Medical Products (online)
- NC State BEC 462/BEC 562/CHE 462 Fundamentals of Bio-Nanotechnology=
Other courses can fulfill these electives upon petition by the student and approval by the director of graduate studies or the student’s Ph.D. advisory committee.
Excluding research and seminar credits but including credits from elective courses, students must take a minimum of 24 credits of course work prior to sitting for the Qualifying Exam. Students who have taken relevant coursework prior to enrollment in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics Graduate Program may use that coursework to satisfy graduate course requirements provided that the courses were taken within 8 years of entry into the graduate program and that passing scores (H, P, or A, B) were received. Courses taken more than 8 years previously may be waived on a case-by-case basis (particularly if the individual has been using the relevant skills frequently) at the discretion of the research advisor and with the approval of the division faculty. All requests for waivers of required courses should be submitted in writing to the division director of graduate studies for review by the division faculty. Note that while a student may waive a particular required course, he or she must still complete a minimum of 24 credits of course work.
This DPMP Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences track has an emphasis in pharmacoengineering, an emerging discipline that integrates engineering methods with pharmaceutical sciences. Pharmacoengineers apply the latest experimental approaches from life sciences, chemistry, and physics in conjunction with theoretical and quantitative methods from engineering, mathematics, and computer science to solve problems in medicine and drug therapies.
We believe in the importance of in-depth training of students both in pharmaceutical sciences and modern engineering, mathematics, and computer science, as well as in the conduct of original research leading to the doctoral dissertation. Thus, we have designed the curriculum to offer rigorous and comprehensive training in the key principles of pharmaceutical sciences and engineering yet maintain a high degree of flexibility for students to tailor the coursework to their specific interests suitable to their research projects.
The program is among the first of its kind in the country and is a joint effort between the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics and the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University.
Students work at the interface of engineering and pharmaceutical sciences to develop safer and more effective medicine and medical technologies. It provides students not only with a strong knowledge base in both pharmaceutical sciences and engineering, but also a highly interdisciplinary research experience. Students have the flexibility to work with any of more than two dozen outstanding faculty members with expertise in a variety of fields within pharmacy and engineering.
Core Courses |
||
| MOPH 864 | Pharmacoengineering in Drug Delivery | 3 credits |
| BMME 890 | Bio Transport | 3 credits |
Pharmaceutical Sciences |
||
| DPET 855 | Principles of Pharmacokinetics | 3 credits |
| MOPH 862 | Advanced Pharmaceutics | 3 credits |
Engineering Emphasis |
||
| MATH | Math/Applied Math Elective (Chose from list below) | 3 credits |
| BMME | Engineering Elective 1 (Chose from list below) | 3 credits |
Statistics |
||
| BIOS 550 | Basic Elements of Probability and Statistical Inference | 3 credits |
| or | ||
| DPET 831 | Design and Analysis of Clinical Drug Trials | 3 credits |
General Electives |
||
| General Elective 1 | 3 credits | |
| General Elective 2 | 3 credits | |
| Arranged with research adviser; to be specific for research area | ||
Seminar |
||
| BMME 890 | BME Graduate Seminar (every semester) | 1 credit |
| and | ||
| MOPH 899 | Molecular Pharmaceutics Seminar | 1 credit |
Ethics |
||
| CTRC | Responsible Conduct of Research (choose one) | 1 credit |
| GRAD 721; Research Ethics | ||
| PHCY 801: Ethical Dilemmas in Research | ||
Dissertation Research |
||
| MOPH/BMME | Doctoral Dissertation | variable |
Math/Applied Math Electives
| BMME 515 | Biomathematical Modeling | |
| BMME 530 | Digital Signal Processing I | |
| BMME 775 | Image Processing and Analysis | |
| BMME 730 | Digital Signal Processing II | |
| BMME 860 | Numerical Methods for Biomedical Engineering | |
| MATH 528 | Mathematical Methods for the Physical Sciences | |
| MATH 535 | Introduction to Probability | |
| MATH 547 | Linear Algebra for Applications | |
| MATH 564 | Math Modeling | |
| MATH 566 | Introduction to Numerical Analysis | |
| MATH 577 | Linear Algebra | |
| MATH 661 | Scientific Computation | |
| MATH 768 | Mathematical Modeling I |
Engineering Electives
| BMME 465 | Biomedical Instrumentation I | |
| BMME 532 | Microelectrode Techniques | |
| BMME 530 | Digital Signal Processing | |
| COMP 665 | Images, Graphics and Vision | |
| BMME 550 | Medical Imaging: Ultrasound, MRI and Optical | |
| BMME 560 | Medical Imaging: X-ray, CT and Nuclear | |
| BMME 551 | Medical Device Design | |
| BMME 580 | Microcontroller Applications I | |
| BMME 515 | Introduction to Systems Biology | |
| BMME 510 | Biomaterials | |
| BMME 505 | Biomechanics | |
| GNET 711-717 | (3 x 1 credit) Bioinformatics |
Other courses can fulfill these electives upon petition by the student and approval by the director of graduate studies or the student’s Ph.D. advisory committee.
DPMP Primary Faculty
Shawn D Hingtgen
Due to their expansive utility, stem cell-based therapies hold the potential to redefine therapeutic approaches and provide cures for many terminal diseases. In the Hingtgen lab, we seek to harness the potential of stem cells to develop new and better methods for treating terminal cancers, including brain cancer. We use an integrative approach that begins with creating specially designed targeted therapeutic proteins.
Leaf Huang
The Laboratory of Drug Targeting has been working on liposomes and immunoliposomes for drug delivery. Current activities are focused in the development of nonviral vectors for gene (including siRNA) therapy, and receptor mediated drug and vaccine targeting using self-assembled nanoparticles. The technologies are tested for therapy of cancer and liver diseases in animal models.
Alexander V. Kabanov
Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., is the Mescal Swaim Ferguson Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and codirector of the Carolina Institute for Nanomedicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to joining UNC-Chapel Hill in July 2012, Kabanov served for nearly eighteen years at the University of Nebraska Medical Center where he was the Parke-Davis Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and director of the Center for Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, which he founded in 2004.
Sam Lai
Sam Lai, Ph.D., was born in Hong Kong and spent his childhood in both Hong Kong and Vancouver. After completing high school at Phillips Academy, Andover, he attended Cornell University and received his BS in chemical and biomolecular engineering in 2003. He then undertook doctoral studies at Johns Hopkins University, receiving his PhD in chemical and biomolecular engineering in 2007. Following a one-year postdoc, he became a research assistant professor at Johns Hopkins in fall 2008 before joining the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in fall 2010.
Juliane Nguyen
Dr. Juliane Nguyen is an Associate Professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics. Her translational research program focuses on developing the next generation of safe and effective biotherapeutics for life-threatening diseases such as cancer and myocardial infarction.
Philip Smith
Dr. Smith received a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Illinois, Chicago Medical Center, and then a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, with an emphasis in pharmacokinetics, in 1985 from the University of California, San Francisco. After postdoctoral studies at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, as a National Research Council Fellow, he joined the faculty of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin.
DPMP Joint Appointments
DPMP Research Faculty
Eric M. Bachelder, PhD
Bachelder focuses on the development of biomaterials for the treatment of diseases associated with the immune system, inlcuding using liposomes, acid sensitive polymers, and tissue engineering scaffolds.
Elena V Batrakova
The main focus of Batrakova’s research is to develop a CNS delivery system for antioxidants and neuronal growth factors to attenuate neuroinflammation and produce neuroprotection in patients with neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. For this purpose, her group utilizes inflammatory-response cells, macrophages and monocytes that can migrate toward the inflammation site, cross the blood brain barrier, and release the preloaded drugs in the brain.
Jillian Perry
Jillian Perry, PhD, leverages her knowledge of polymer chemistry, biomaterials, and drug delivery to develop novel drug delivery carriers for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Current research interests lay in utilizing high resolution 3D printing for the development of scaffolds for cell/drug delivery, scaffolds for 3D cell culture, generation of solid microarray patches (MAPs) for transdermal drug/vaccine delivery, as well as hollow MAPs for interstitial fluid sampling.
Jillian received both her bachelors of science in chemical engineering and PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Florida. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship here at the University of North Carolina under the mentorship of Dr. Joseph DeSimone. She joined the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2019 as a research assistant professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics and is a member of the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery.
Marina Sokolsky
Sokolsky-Papkov’s current research centers on design of nano-based, sustained release and remote actuated drug delivery systems for treatment and diagnosis of cancer. My research utilizes several platform nanoparticles based technologies (polymeric micelles and nanoparticles, cell derived exosomes and inorganic nanoparticles) and is focused on engineering treatment modalities for two main types of cancer: brain cancer and brain metastases and diagnosis and treatment of post operative residual disease and metastatic spread with emphasis on (1) designing drug loaded nanoparticles which can effectively home to brain cancer in vivo and deliver tumor specific payload to improve treatment efficacy (2) utilize sustained release and nanotechnology approaches to design delivery systems which can improve non invasive diagnosis of primary metastatic spread, treat residual disease and promote post-operative would healing and (3) utilize intrinsic properties of inorganic nanoparticles to design theranostic delivery systems which combine remotely induced drug release and cell apoptosis.