News
2025 Year-End summary of accomplishments by lab members
As we approach the end of the year, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for everyone's incredible hard work and dedication. This year has been a remarkable one, filled with significant progress and individual successes that we should all be proud of.
Welcomes & Farewells
This year, we were excited to welcome Lola and Sabrina to Sahily’s team and look forward to all the great work ahead together. We also celebrate Fengyi as he prepares to begin his PhD in 2026, and we wish him continued success in the next stage of his academic journey.
Research Publications
Our lab members made significant scholarly contributions in 2025, with several peer-reviewed publications. These include Manny and Sach’s work on safer nonviral DNA delivery, Zhicheng and Jacob’s study of the complement system, Sahily and Aparajeeta’s research demonstrating the therapeutic potential of IL-10 mRNA-LNPs in stroke, and Jia’s work on VCAM-targeted nanocarriers for brain delivery.
Fellowships & Professional Milestones
We are also proud to recognize the achievements of our lab members, including Nick’s receipt of the Michael S. Brown Fellowship, Sarah’s two-year extension on the Pharmacology T32 Training Grant, and Yufei’s American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Fellowship. We also congratulate Taylor on accepting an industry position, marking an exciting professional transition!
Awards & Honors
In addition to individual accomplishments, the lab received some incredible recognition this year, including the Controlled Release Society’s 2025 Gene Therapy Scientific Achievement Award, finalist honors for the Falling Walls Scientific Breakthrough of the Year (Breaking the Wall of Therapeutic DNA Delivery), and the 2025 Harrington Scholar-Innovator Award.
We couldn’t be prouder of what this team has accomplished this year. We look forward to building on this momentum in the coming year and continuing to advance impactful, translational research!
Serena Omo-Lamai Awarded Schmidt Science Fellowship and Named Harvard Junior Fellow
Serena Omo-Lamai finished her PhD in Nov 2024 and then received the Schmidt Science Fellowship and was awarded a slot in the Harvard Junior Fellows Program.
Manthan Patel awarded the 2024 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship!
The lab is wishing Manny major congratulations after he was awarded the American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship. Keep up the good work, you rock!
Advanced Materials: Physicochemical Targeting of Lipid Nanoparticles to the Lungs Induces Clotting: Mechanisms and Solutions
Read paper online: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/adma.202312026
The Great Pie Party!
As we embrace the beautiful fall season, we decided to host a pie-themed lab get-together! It was an unforgettable afternoon filled with laughter, delicious pies, and a unique twist - the Great Pie Eating Showdown. It all came complete with a pie eating contest! It was a whole lot of fun, and the winner earned eternal bragging rights! We had a delightful array of pies from MANNA’s Pie In The Sky, both sweet and savory, to satisfy our taste buds. Pie In The Sky will generate almost a quarter of a million dollars to nourish more than 2,000 members in the community during the holiday season. It’s great to enjoy this party while contributing to a good cause!
New Paper in Int. J. Pharm. about using AI to track infusion reactions in mice!
Congratulations to Liam Chase for being published in International Journal of Pharmaceutics Volume 645, October 2023! Infusion reactions…
Snowfall Surprise: Brenner Bioengineering Lab Embraces Winter Magic
Can you believe it? The Brenner Bioengineering Lab in Philly got hit with an unexpected snow day, and it was pure joy! Picture this: scientists, researchers, and the whole crew ditching their lab coats for a wild snowball fight – their first one ever! Get in on the fun as they take a break from the usual serious lab stuff to soak up the snowy magic. Explore the heartwarming scenes of camaraderie as these brainy innova
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