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Sam Lai is a professor of pharmacoengineering and molecular pharmaceutics at UNC. He is a pioneer in mucus-penetrating particle technology and muco-trapping antibodies, and has founded several startups based on his research.
- Mucosal Immunology and The Mucus Barrier
- Antibody Response to Synthetic Nanoparticles
- Targeted Nanoparticle Delivery
- Computational Modeling
We seek to develop methods to improve protection against infectious diseases at mucosal surfaces. To infect mucosal tissues, such as the lungs, GI tract and female reproductive tract, pathogens must penetrate viscoelastic mucus coatings. We seek to improve our understanding of the interactions between pathogens and mucins, and use this knowledge to...
Synthetic polymers are increasingly used in drug delivery and tissue engineering applications. However, how the adaptive immune system can generate antibodies against synthetic polymers remain not well understood. We are currently applying the genetic sequencing and molecular biology techniques to investigate how antibodies can specifically bind to...
Conjugating ligands to nanoparticles for targeted nanoparticle delivery may result in premature elimination from the systemic circulation, thereby limiting the injected dose of particles that can reach target cells/tissues. Furthermore, many disease targets are inherently heterogeneous and not easily targeted by any single ligand. We are investigat...
An important theme in our lab is the use of computational modeling to both substantiate our experimental discoveries and guide our experimental efforts to enhance protection against infectious disease or nanoparticle-based drug delivery.
Sam Lai, PhD, is a UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center member researching immunology, infectious disease, nanotechnology, biomaterials, biophysics, bioengineering and modeling.
Sam Lai. (919) 966-3024. lai@unc.edu. 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.
Apr 30, 2021 · Sam Lai is a full professor in the Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. He is a chemical and biomolecular engineer who develops nanoparticles and biomaterials for mucosal delivery and immunology.
Sam Lai is a professor and inventor of nanoparticle-based delivery of bioactive molecules to mucosal tissues. He founded Inhalon Biopharma, a company that develops drugs for respiratory diseases, and has received multiple awards for his research.
Sam Lai is a researcher and professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, specializing in antibody engineering, mucosal immunology, phage engineering and immune cell engineering. He has published several papers on topics such as sperm-binding antibodies, antiviral monoclonal antibodies and mucus-pathogen interactions.
