Amanda Portis
portisam(at)msu.edu
2125 Engineering Building
517.432.1003
Hometown: Kalamazoo, MI
Undergraduate Institution: Tri-State University
Project title: Targeted siRNA Delivery Systems
Project Description: The blood brain barrier (BBB) provides a complex filtering mechanism by which the brain is protected from pathogens and toxins. The barrier selectively allows the multidirectional transport of various nutrients, hormones, and vitamins while at the same time prohibiting the entrance of other substances. This creates a problem in the development of therapeutics for the treatment of neurological diseases. Nanoparticle (NP)-based therapeutic delivery vehicles have the potential to address this unique challenge. The key components for successful NP delivery include low cytotoxicity, high delivery efficiency, and targeting specifically to and passage across the BBB. The primary focus of my research is tying together knowledge of the BBB with the design of polymeric nanoparticles to create gene delivery vehicles for specific neurological diseases.
PI: Christina Chan/Patrick Walton