Developing virus nanoparticle (VNP)-based gene delivery vectors 

Delivering nucleic acid-based therapeutics into target cells specifically is a considerable biomedical challenge. Using concepts and tools from virology, protein engineering, and molecular biology, we are interested in developing virus nanoparticle (VNP)-based gene delivery vectors to tackle this challenge with a different perspective. In particular, we are building a toolkit of VNPs that can conduct basic biomolecular computation in order to mediate targeted delivery. We are in the initial stages of programming defined logic operators into the virus nanostructure and have successfully created VNP prototypes that are activated by proteolytic tumor biomarkers. Additionally, we are interested in building bionano devices that are hybrid structures of VNPs and proteins. For example, in one of our projects we are interested in creating VNPs that can be used for imaging and therapy simultaneously. Unfortunately, incomplete knowledge of capsid biology makes it difficult to rationally design brightly fluorescent and fully infectious viruses. To overcome this problem, we generated a platform gene library that was used to make large libraries of virus mutants displaying fluorescent proteins on the capsid and then selected for variants with desired infectivity and fluorescent properties. This platform library can be used in the future to create other types of VNP-protein hybrid devices. Collectively, our work aims to engineer VNPs in creative ways for potential use in a broad range of biomedical applications.

Bio:
Dr. Suh received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering at MIT and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Before joining the Rice University department of Bioengineering as an assistant professor in 2007, she completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Her graduate research focused on understanding the interaction of nanoscale systems, either nature-derived or human-engineered, with complex biological environments in an effort to discover ruling paradigms that govern the performance of nanoparticles designed for biomedicine. Her postdoctoral research focused on studying how natural viruses interface with cellular machinery, particularly those that maintain homeostasis in the cell nucleus. Such studies should uncover new insights into how synthetic nanoparticle systems can be designed to yield the performance efficiencies rivaling that of viruses. Currently, Dr. Suh works at the interface of virology, biophysics, molecular biology, and protein engineering to investigate and create novel virus-based materials for various biomedical applications. By manipulating the “inputs” and “outputs” of virus nanoparticles (VNP), she endeavors to develop platform technologies that can be used as therapeutics for a broad range of human diseases. She was awarded the NSF CAREER Award and the MDACC Ovarian Cancer SPORE Career Development Program Award for her innovative work on reprogramming viruses as therapeutic platforms. Additionally, Dr. Suh was part of the multi-institutional team of investigators that was awarded an NIH Grand Opportunities grant aimed at investigating the intracellular transport of a variety of engineered nanomaterials used for biomedical applications.