Devika Soundara Manickam
Associate Professor
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
McGovern Medical School
Department of Neurology
The overarching mission of the Manickam Laboratory is to develop carriers for the delivery of small and macromolecular drugs to the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Protection of brain endothelial cells (BECs) lining the BBB may be a promising strategy to treat multiple cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative diseases such as ischemic stroke, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, etc. Our laboratory is focused on developing two different platform technologies for drug delivery to the BBB. (1) We have demonstrated that the larger subset (>200 nm in particle diameter) of BEC-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) can be used for the delivery of their innate mitochondria. The delivered EV mitochondria have demonstrated neuroprotective effects in an animal model of ischemic stroke. We are also engineering EVs to enrich the quality and quantity of mitochondria and for the delivery of exogenous therapeutic proteins. (2) Lipid nanoparticles are FDA-approved carriers used for mRNA delivery in the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. We have also engineered ionic liquid-coated lipid nanoparticles (IL-LNPs) that favorably modify the biodistribution of intravenously-injected IL-LNPs to increase their accumulation at the BBB. We are constantly on the lookout for motivated and hardworking graduate students who are interested in researching the development of drug carriers for the delivery of mitochondria and other drugs to the BBB and beyond. Our laboratory is well-established for rigorous scientific training and well-rounded mentoring for successful careers in biomedical sciences.
Keywords: drug delivery, extracellular vesicles, mitochondria, proteins, BBB, LNPs, ionic liquids
Education & Training
PhD- Wayne State University - 2008