Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery
The Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery (CNDD) was established in June 2007 in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. CNDD’s efforts are aimed at improving health by enhancing the efficacy and safety of new drugs and imaging agents through the discovery and application of innovative methods of drug delivery.
The Center’s research focuses on safely and efficiently translating new therapeutic and imaging agents from bench to bedside with the goal of improving human health. CNDD serves to unify existing diverse technical and scientific expertise in biomedical and material science research at UNC through its world-class interdisciplinary drug delivery and nanomedicine program. The primary goal of the CNDD is to provide a foundation for synergistic research that translates into clinical benefits for diseases that currently have limited treatment options while simultaneously developing a critical and “visionary” area of science in which the state of North Carolina is a world leader.
The key technologies employed by the Center include biomaterial sciences and engineering, polymer chemistry, nanotechnology and nanofabrication, pharmaceutical chemistry & formulation science, and nanotoxicology. The Center is a multi-disciplinary, multi-departmental entity, involving faculty members from different departments at UNC.
Conferences, Workshops, Seminars and Training
CNDD contributes to the national and international visibility and reputation of UNC and the Eshelman School of Pharmacy in the field of nanotechnology in drug delivery. We are proud to sponsor conferences, workshops and seminars that share knowledge about the latest research and advances in nanotechnologies in drug delivery.
nanoDDS
The Center has organized scientific meetings including the annual Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium (nanoDDS).
nanoDDS 2024 will take place in Orlando, Florida.
Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop
The Carolina Nanoformulation Workshop (CNW) focuses on both academic and industrial trainees. CNW 2020 was a virtual event held online on September 14-15, 2020
PAST WORKSHOPS
Targeted Delivery to the Tumor Microenvironment CCNTP Workshop
October 14-17, 2019
The 2019 Targeted Delivery to the Tumor Microenvironment CCNTP Workshop was hosted by the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. This workshop focused on mechanisms to deliver therapeutic agents to tumors, and combined didactic lectures with case study discussion and primary literature analysis. Presentation topics included therapeutic microbes, exosomes, refillable drug depots, antibodies, viruses, stem cells, polymeric micelles, nanoparticles, high affinity ligands for cancer cells, stereotactic radiosurgery and nanoparticles vectors.
Cancer Core Facilities CCNTP Workshop
March 18-22, 2019
The 2019 Cancer Core Facilities CCNTP Workshop was hosted by the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. UNC Core Facilities are shared resources which offer a wide range of services to the research community, including cutting edge technologies, high end instrumentation, technical support, and education. This workshop introduced participants to six core facilities at UNC: The Animal Models Core Facility, the Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Core Facility, the Mouse Phase 1 Core Facility, the Chapel Hill Analytical and Nanofabrication Laboratory (CHANL), the Macromolecular Interactions Facility (Mac-In-Fac), and the Nanomedicines Characterization Core Facility. Instructors presented an overview of the instrumentation available at each core, and where possible, gave a facility tour and led a hands-on demonstration. Each presentation ended with a brainstorming session about how the core facility could interact with participants’ research.
Cancer Imaging and Non-Invasive Monitoring of Treatment Responses CCNTP Workshop
September 4-7, 2018
The 2018 Cancer Imaging and Non-Invasive Monitoring of Treatment Responses CCNTP Workshop was hosted by the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. This workshop focused on non-invasive monitoring and the role of nanoscience in its development, at levels ranging from basic optical considerations to clinical complexities. Attendees included graduate students, postdocs, and faculty.
UPCOMING SEMINARS
Fall, 2024:
The Distinguished Speaker, Xinqiao Jia, PhD
Monday, October 14th, 2024
The specific location and time will be decided later.
The Distinguished Speaker, Guillermo Ameer, ScD
Monday, November 4th, 2024
The specific location and time will be decided later.
Spring, 2025:
The Distinguished Speaker, Mike J. Mitchell, PhD
Monday, February 24th, 2025
The specific location and time will be decided later.
The Distinguished Speaker, Junghae Suh, PhD
Friday, April 18th, 2025
The specific location and time will be decided later.
PAST SEMINARS
View Previously Recorded SeminarsThe Distinguished Speaker, Maria J. Vicent, PhD
“‘Polypeptide-based Nanomedicine with inherent Tropism and Biological Barrier Crossing Capabilities”
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
The Distinguished Speaker, Marina A. Dobrovolskaia, PhD, MBA, PMP
“Lessons learned from the immunological characterization of nanoparticles at the Nanotechnology Characterization Lab”
Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 2:00pm, in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Danielle S.W. Benoit, PhD
“Engineered Extracellular Matrices: Development of Epithelial Tissue Microphysiological Systems”
Monday, November 6, 2023, at 12:30pm in Marsico Hall, Room 4004.
The Distinguished Speaker, Elias Sayour, MD, PhD
“Reprograming Cancer Immunobiology with mRNA Vaccines”
Monday, October 9, 2023, at 12:30pm in Marsico Hall, Room 4004.
The Distinguished Speaker, Vladimir Muzykantov, MD, PhD
“Targeting nanomedicine to the vascular endothelium”
Thursday, March 5, 2020 at 9:00am in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Gary Landreth, PhD
“The intersection of inflammation and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease”
Thursday, December 12, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Natalie Artzi, PhD
“Precision Biomaterials for Combination Cancer Therapy”
Thursday, November 14, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Valery Fokin, PhD
“Chemical Tools for Deciphering Biological Complexity”
Thursday, May 2, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, James Moon, PhD
“Nanomaterials for combination cancer immunotherapy”
Monday, April 15, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Tejal Desai, PhD
“Modulating the Therapeutic Microenvironment using Micro and Nanostructured Biomaterials”
Friday, March 22, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. in MacNider Hall, Room 321
The Distinguished Speaker, Andrei Gudkov, PhD, DSc
“Senescent cells: mammalian aging drivers or in vitro laboratory artifact?”
Friday, March 8, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Tatiana Segura, PhD
“Promoting tissue repair with granular materials”
Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Mari Dezawa, MD, PhD
“A novel type of stem cells, endogenous reparative pluripotent Muse cells, may revolutionize medical care”
Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Anirban Sen Gutpta, PhD
“Bioinspired Nanomaterials for Vascular Interface Applications: Hemocompatibility, Hemostasis and Targeted Drug Delivery”
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Michelle Bradbury, MD, PhD
“Targeted Ultrasmall Particle Imaging Platforms as Next-Generation Treatment Tools for Drug Delivery and Induction of Cell Death”
Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, MD
“Ubiquitous Release of Exosomal Tumor Suppressor miR-6126 from Ovarian Cancer Cells”
Thursday, March 29, 2018 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Stephan T. Stern, PhD, DABT
“Challenges in Evaluation of Nanomedicine Pharmacokinetics and Generic Bioequivalence”
Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Jan E. Schnitzer, MD
“Overcoming Key Barriers to Rapidly Penetrate, Image and Destroy Solid Tumors”
Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Paula Hammond, PhD
“Functional Modular Nanomaterials for Strategic Delivery of Combination Therapies”
Thursday, March 23, 2017 at 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Kerr Hall, Room 1001
The Distinguished Speaker, Lily Yang, MD, PhD
“Theranostic Nanoparticles for Precision Oncology”
Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016 at 9:30 a.m.
The Distinguished Speaker, Justin Hanes, PhD
“Drug and Nucleic Acid Delivery to the Brain”
Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016 at 12:30 p.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 4004
The Distinguished Speaker, Gregory Lanza, MD, PhD
“Contact-Facilitated Drug Delivery of Lipase-Labile Prodrugs with Targeted Lipid-based Nanotherapies”
Wednesday, April 20, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. in Kerr Hall, Room 2001
The Distinguished Speaker, Stanislav Emelianov, PhD
“Clinical translation of photoacoustic imaging: challenges and opportunities”
Thursday, Feb. 24, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. in Kerr Hall, Room 2001
The Distinguished Speaker, Francis C. Szoka, PhD
“Investigations into Long Circulation and Tumor Penetration of NanoDrug Carriers”
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. in Kerr Hall, Room 1001
The Distinguished Speaker, Alexei A. Bogdanov, PhD
“Molecular Imaging of Vascular Wall Inflammation”
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. in Kerr Hall, Room 1001
The Distinguished Speaker, Chad A. Mirkin, PhD
“Liposomal Spherical Nucleic Acids: A New Approach to Immunomodulatory Therapies”
Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. in Kerr Hall, Room 1001
The Distinguished Speaker, Theresa M. Reineke, PhD
“Sugar-Coated Complexes: Designed Polymers for Drug and Nucleic Acid Delivery”
Friday, May 8, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. in Beard Hall, Room 116
The Distinguished Speaker, Jeffrey A. Hubbell, PhD
“Materials and Protein Engineering for Modulating Immunity and Tolerance”
Friday, May 1, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. in Kerr Hall, Room 1001
The Distinguished Speaker, Dan Peer, PhD
“Harnessing RNAi-Based Nanomedicines for Precision Therapy”
Friday, Jan. 30, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. in Marsico Hall, Room 2004
The Distinguished Speaker, Kazunori Kataoka, PhD
“Block Copolymer Micelles as Smart Nanocarriers for Targeted Drug Delivery”
Friday, April 25, 2014 at 12:30 p.m. in Kerr Hall, Room 1001
The Distinguished Speaker, Carlos Rinaldi, PhD
“Magnetic Nanoparticles as Nanoscale Probes and Actuators in Complex Fluids and Biological Systems”
Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. in Kerr Hall, Room 1001
The Distinguished Speaker, Judy Riffle, PhD
“Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Dual Drug Delivery and Bio-imaging”
Thursday, Feb. 6, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. in Beard Hall, Room 116
The Distinguished Speaker, Victor Kotelianski, MD, PhD, DSc
“In Vivo RNAi and Liver Functional Genomics”
Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. in Kerr Hall, Room 2001
T32 Postdoctoral Training Program
CNDD has developed an innovative and unique postdoctoral training program in cancer nanotechnology and a unique training program. This 24 to 36 month National Cancer Institute–sponsored T32 postdoctoral training program’s goal is to equip a cohort of outstanding young scientists with the multidisciplinary concepts and skills needed to improve cancer diagnosis and therapy based on concepts, tools and discoveries made in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
Find out more about the T32 Postdoctoral Training Program here.