Artzi Lab | From Bench to Bedside
Principal Investigator
Natalie Artzi is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is a Principal Research Scientist at the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science at MIT, Core Faculty of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and Head of Structural Nanomedicine at Mass General Brigham's Gene and Cell Therapy Institute (GCTI). Dr. Artzi is a biomedical scientist-engineer renowned for transformative contributions to structural nanomedicine and pioneering work on tissue- and cell-responsive materials. Dr. Artzi developed materials that activate based on chemical cues, enabling targeted drug delivery, and creating a novel "depot effect" where nanotherapeutics are released to neighboring cells to enhance immune therapy.
Dr. Artzi's program in tissue- and cell-responsive materials understands that personalized medicine can be applied to biomaterial design. Dr. Artzi has developed platforms that sense biological environments, enhance tissue repair, and report on tissue state. Her work has shown that material performance is contextual and that healing via implanted polymeric biomaterials is affected by inflammation or disease. Her lab has developed stable and potent immune modulatory nanostructures that activate target immune cells, enhance specificity and efficacy, shuttle drugs to specific organs, and interact with cancer and immune cells to modulate their phenotype. She also developed methodologies to track material erosion, drug distribution, and cell fate noninvasively.
Dr. Artzi has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the 2024 Acta Biomaterialia Silver Medal, the 2024 Clemson Award for Applied Research, and the mid-career award from the Society for Biomaterials. She was the inaugural recipient of the Kabiller Rising Star Award in Nanomedicine. Artzi is a Fellow of both the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and the Controlled Release Society, reflecting peer recognition of significant contributions to biomedical engineering and drug delivery technologies.
The Team
Instructors
Alexander Cryer, PhD
"Nanotechnology and drug delivery"
Alex is an instructor in cancer immunoengineering. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry (2014) and Masters in Biomedical Research (2015) prior to obtaining a Ph.D. from Imperial College London, U.K. (2019), focused on the development of nanoparticle drug delivery systems for cancer therapy. His current work centralizes around engineering therapeutic cancer vaccines and improving immunotherapy delivery using biomaterials and nanotechnology.
Postdoctoral fellows
Eliz Amar-Lewis, PhD
"Biomaterials and drug delivery"
Eliz Amar-Lewis is a postdoctoral research fellow in drug delivery, gene therapy and biomaterials. She received her B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Ben-Gurion University (BGU) and completed her M.Sc. and Ph.D at BGU under the supervision of Prof. Joseph Kost. In her research she studied polysaccharides for the delivery of nucleic acids (siRNA and pDNA) as a platform for cancer gene therapy and the application of therapeutic ultrasound as a means to overcome delivery barriers. In addition, studied and developed biomaterials for controlled release of drugs for several therapeutic applications. Her current focus is on the development of biomaterials-based nanoparticles for gene editing applications and cancer immunotherapy.
Maria Poley, PhD
"Nanotechnology and drug delivery"
Maria received her B.Sc. in Biochemical Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. In July 2022, she received her Ph.D. from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Her research focus was nanotechnology distribution in the female reproductive system and brain-targeted drug delivery to treat Parkinson’s Disease.
Tengyu He, PhD
"Nanomedicine and cancer immunotherapy"
Tengyu is a postdoctoral research fellow in nanomedicine for cancer immunotherapy. He received his Master of Science in Materials Science from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China (2018) and Ph.D. in Materials Science from University of California San Diego, US (2023). His research centers on innovating nanomaterials and self-assembling peptides-based compounds for cancer immunotherapy. He currently focuses on amplifying cancer immunotherapies with immunogenic tumor cell death.
Namrata Ramani, PhD
Namrata is a postdoctoral fellow at the Wyss Institute with a focus on biomaterials and cancer immunotherapy. She received her B.S. in Materials Engineering at the University of California at Los Angeles, and her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University under the supervision of Professor Chad Mirkin. Her PhD research was focused on using programable DNA interactions to control the chemical and mechanical cell signaling environment of hydrogels. Her current research interests include designing new nanostructures that exhibit tissue tropism and using materials to understand and treat complex disease.
Erin O'Brien, PhD
After graduating from Drexel University with a BS/MS in Biomedical Engineering, Erin worked as a research assistant at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia. She returned to Drexel for her PhD, during which time she also conducted research at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. Her PhD work sought to understand macrophage phenotype transitions and to leverage them in a cell therapy to promote tissue regeneration. Her primary research interests are biomaterials, immune engineering, and cancer immunotherapy.
Yongkuk Park, PhD
Yongkuk Park is a postdoctoral research fellow with a focus on biomaterials, tissue engineering, and cancer immunotherapy. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Seoul, where he developed nucleic acid-based nanodrugs and hydrogels for cancer therapy. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His Ph.D. work centered on bone organoid models to study localized bone remodeling and osteoporosis treatments. Currently in the Artzi Lab, he researches drug delivery systems for bone regeneration and immunotherapy.
Núria Puigmal Domínguez, PhD
"Immunoengineering and biomaterials"
Núria received her PhD in Bioengineering at the Institut Químic de Sarrià (IQS). She received her B.S. in Biotechnology from the University of Girona and completed her Master’s in Bioengineering at IQS. Her PhD research has been focused on development of nanoparticles for local delivery to the skin and DNA/RNA vaccines. Currently, she is working on microneedle fabrication and drug delivery.
Graduate Students
Michelle Dion
"Nanotechnology and drug delivery"
Michelle is a PhD student in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Medical Engineering and Medical Physics program, concentrating in Biological Engineering. Her research interests are in nanotechnology, immune engineering, and drug delivery. Prior to graduate school, she worked at Genentech developing long-acting ocular drug delivery technologies and applying antibody engineering techniques for the optimization of ocular therapeutics. She received her S.B. in Chemical-Biological Engineering from MIT. As an undergraduate, Michelle worked in Ron Weiss’s lab as a member of the iGEM team, applying synthetic biology techniques to develop self-assembling mammalian tissues.
William Sawyer
William is a Master’s student studying Material Science and Engineering at the University of Florida. He previously graduated from Florida with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Chemistry. He has a passion for the fundamentals of engineering, chemistry, and medicine, which led him to work as a clinical research associate at Moffitt Cancer Center working with CAR-T cells and pilot studies on novel cell-culture platforms. Currently, he is working on the development of lipid nanoparticles as vehicles for drug delivery for various diseases. William’s interests revolve around his central goal of using Material Science and Engineering as a convergence point for the fields of engineering, chemistry, and medicine.
Nelly Andrews Interiano
Nelly is a Master’s student in Biotechnology at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, where she previously earned her BS in Nanotechnology Engineering. During her undergraduate studies, she engaged in pioneering projects focused on developing drug delivery systems utilizing polymeric and lipid nanoparticles for applications in cancer immunotherapy and bone regeneration. Driven by her deep passion for nanotechnology as a revolutionary approach in cancer treatment, Nelly is now working on the development of a polymeric nanoparticle-based delivery system. Her current research integrates nanotechnology and immunology, demonstrating her dedication to enhancing cancer therapy and advancing the frontiers of innovation in drug delivery systems.
Undergraduates
Beatriz Nicolas Ruiz
Beatriz is an undergraduate student in the Biotechnology Engineering program at Tecnológico de Monterrey. She is passionate about innovative medical research and is actively involved with the FEMSA Biotechnology Center at Tecnológico de Monterrey. There, she participates in projects related to genetic engineering and immunology, studying neutrophil characteristics for potential applications in cell therapy. Her interests include immunotherapy, synthetic biology, drug delivery, and biomedicine.
Andrea Michasevich Soto
Andrea is an undergraduate student in the Biotechnology Engineering program at Tecnológico de Monterrey. She is interested in immunology, genetic engineering, biomedicine, and drug delivery. During her studies, she has been involved in different research projects, such as the modelling of obesity in response to a compound developed by collaborators of her university's Obesity Institute using the zebrafish study model. She also partnered with the Chemistry Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in the isolation and growth of different fungal strains, to study their antimicrobial properties. Overall, her previous research experience surrounds tissue culture, molecular biology and microbiology.
Daniela Simental Lopez
Daniela is an undergraduate Biotechnology Engineering student at the Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Toluca. Daniela is an active member of her campus's Biotechnology Center, where she did an academic and laboratory internship and participated in projects related to immunology and cell therapy. Her focus was on the expansion and proliferation of NK cells, and she received first place in the ExpoIngenierías competition. Her interests include drug delivery, immunotherapy and cancer research.
Nicole Casteele Hernandez
Nicole is an undergraduate student majoring in Biotechnology Engineering at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico City. She is passionate about science and is currently interested in immunotherapy for cancer and drug delivery through innovative biomaterials. She loves to learn and teach, which is why she has been involved in student groups in Mexico City dedicated to making science accessible to people of all ages.
Angela Villarreal Jezzini
Angela is an undergraduate student majoring in Biotechnology Engineering at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey. Her passion for medicine and real life applications of high impact research have led her to be involved in distinct student groups and labs. Her previous experience consists of analyzing the impact of cigarette smoke extract on lung cancer cells, 3-D tissue bioprinting, organ and cancer on a chip model, and the elaboration of biosensors. She was also part of an experimental rocketing group, where she analyzed muscle deterioration of astronauts and vegetation growth in microgravity. Her current research interests include cancer immunotherapy, drug delivery, biomaterials, and personalized medicine for the improvement of cancer patients' quality of life.
Alexa Hinojosa Ortiz
Alexa Hinojosa Ortiz is a Biotechnology Engineering student at Tec de Monterrey. Her academic journey has been marked by a commitment to research, leadership, and scientific dissemination. Alexa has gained hands-on experience in microbiology, cell culture, molecular biology, and cloning, through various research projects. In February 2024, she completed a research internship at the Center for Research and Assistance in Technology and Design of the State of Jalisco (CIATEJ) in a BSL-2 laboratory, where she focused on antiviral peptides against HSV-1. Additionally, she contributed to the Institute for Obesity Research, where she evaluated the therapeutic potential of phenolic compounds. Alexa is curious, enthusiastic, and tenacious. Driven to make a meaningful impact on research in Mexico, Alexa founded "Chicas de Ciencia" to encourage more girls and young women to pursue careers in science. Her research in the Artzi Lab explores drug delivery, biomaterials, nanotechnology, and immunology, including microneedle-based delivery of anti-inflammatory lipid nanoparticles for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and transplant rejection.
Andrea de Shonstant Mendez Garcia
Andy is an undergraduate Biotechnology Engineering student at Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Querétaro. She led a research project about population genetics, where she discovered new Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms that negatively affect insulin resistance within the Mexican population. This investigation granted her the first place in the XVI Investigation and Postgraduate International Forum, held at the Natural Sciences Faculty in the Autonomous University of Querétaro. Andy has performed research internships in the Bioengineering Center at Tec campus Querétaro, as well as in the Center for Applied Physics and Advanced Technology and Neurobiology Faculty at UNAM (Juriquilla, Querétaro), developing inorganic nanoparticles for the treatment of ovarian and prostate cancer. She won a bronze medal in the International Competition for Biomolecular Design in Tokyo 2023 by presenting a portable microfluidic device capable of detecting cefotaxime-resistant bacteria through an on-site LAMP reaction. In the Artzi Lab, Andy is currently working on the development, characterization, and application of mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles for targeted brain delivery.
© 2024 by Artzi Research Group