Ohanian Lecture Seminar – Dr. Paula Hammond

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Electrostatic Nano-Assemblies for Biomedicine

Over recent years, our lab has developed the use of electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly as a means of modifying the surfaces of nanoparticles for biomedical applications. The nature of these alternating charge-based coatings is highly dependent on assembly conditions, polymer charge density, polyelectrolyte composition and molecular weight. We have demonstrated that the selection of the outer polyanion layer determines and impacts characteristics such as stealth properties, protein association, cellular interactions and even intracellular trafficking. The use of synthetic polypeptides, polysaccharides and native biomolecular systems can greatly influence the ability of these LbL nanoparticles to exhibit extended plasma half-life, penetrate tumor tissues, and target specific cell types including immune and tumor cells. We have developed simple electrostatic bilayer coatings that lead to high affinity to cancer cells while maintaining sufficiently low interactions with healthy cells to enable highly efficient tumor targeting. These systems can be designed to enhance transport across barriers such as the blood-brain barrier, properties that can be further enhanced through the complementary adsorption of additional targeting peptides of opposite charge. On the other hand, these nanolayered assemblies can be modified to modulate cell-particle interactions and facilitate transport through tissue while still enabling desirable specificity of cell association. Furthermore, it is possible to use these approaches to modify the uptake and transfection of mRNA lipid nanoparticles in a manner that enables a modular approach to targeting utilizing different polyelectrolytes. An overview of these approaches and their use to address ovarian cancer, glioblastoma and other biomedical applications will be discussed.

Professor Paula T. Hammond is Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. She serves as dean of the MIT School of Engineering. Previously, she served as executive vice provost and vice provost for faculty from 2024 to January 2026 and as department head of chemical engineering from 2015 to 2023. Hammond investigates electrostatic polymer systems for targeted drug delivery, including thin-film coatings that release proteins to regenerate bone, wound dressings that release RNA to support healing, and nanoparticles designed to bind specifically to tumors for cancer treatment. Her research has focused particularly on developing new therapies for ovarian cancer that activate the immune system to address both primary and recurrent tumors. She earned her S.B. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from MIT and her M.S. in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in chemistry at Harvard University. Hammond was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2016, the National Academy of Engineering in 2017, and the National Academy of Sciences in 2019, and she was named to the 2013 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In January 2025, she received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. She is also a member of the National Academy of Inventors. Her honors include the Margaret H. Wright Rousseau Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement by a Woman Chemical Engineer, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry from the Franklin Institute, and the 2025 Othmer Gold Medal. Hammond is a former member of the scientific advisory board of Moderna Therapeutics and currently serves on the boards of Alector Therapeutics and Sail Biomedicines. She also serves on the board of the MIT Engine and was a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology from 2021 to 2025.