Angela K. Pannier, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biological Systems Engineering Department
University of Nebraska

“Priming Nonviral Gene Delivery for Stem Cell and Vaccination Applications”

Abstract:
Gene delivery is the delivery of exogenous genetic material to cells with the goal of altering molecular physiology to produce a cellular or systemic phenotype change. Unlike many conventional drugs, free nucleic acids are not readily internalized by eukaryotic cells due to size and charge, but many methods of their delivery to cells are the subject of intense research, including viral and non-viral methods. Non-viral gene delivery methods are much less efficient than viral methods, but flexibility in genetic cargo, ease of transfection protocols, and lack of safety issues make them advantageous alternatives. Strategies to engineer more effective non-viral gene delivery materials and methods are highly dependent on variable parameters such as cell type and application, and have focused on engineering increasingly more complex lipid and polymer vectors, but the rational design of new technologies is limited by our current knowledge of several key cellular barriers. To expand our knowledge of the “biology of transfection” our group has made efforts to understand the process of gene delivery, using diverse tools include modeling, gene expression analysis, high throughput screening, cell priming, and the development of new material systems, for stem cell and vaccination applications.