Faculty trainers in the Biotechnology Graduate Program pursue research across the life sciences and engineering fields. The common thread among them is a focus on the fundamentals of drug and gene delivery, drug discovery, and cell therapy.
Drug Discovery is the complex process by which new drug candidates (small and large molecules) are identified, tested, validated, manufactured and ultimately evaluated in clinical trials. At Brown, faculty are working on various diseases and are focused on identifying new drug targets, understanding the biochemistry and physiology of drug targets, screening for and testing novel drug candidates, synthesizing new therapeutics, determining the molecular structure of drug targets and new high throughput methods to replace the use of animals in toxicity testing and drug discovery. Students take graduate level courses to deepen their understanding of pharmacology, physiology, translational medicine, in vitro models, bioinformatics, and drug design.
Cell therapy is an emerging field that uses living cells and cellular products to treat and prevent disease. At Brown, faculty in the biological and physical sciences are conducting exciting research in mesenchymal stem cells, iPS cells, 3D cell culture, biofabrication, stem cell engineering, exosomes and gene therapy with applications to cancer, cardiovascular disease, orthopedics, neurodegenerative diseases, and regenerative medicine. Students take graduate level courses to deepen their understanding of cell biology, stem cells, tissue engineering, therapeutic proteins, neuroscience, pathology and cancer biology.
Drug Delivery is the field that creates and tests novel systems to safely and effectively deliver a wide range of therapeutics in a controlled and targeted way. At Brown, faculty are designing polymer-based systems and novel devices for the sustained delivery of small drugs, therapeutic proteins and nanomaterials to control diabetes, to manage pain, to prevent infections as well as to diagnose and treat cancer. Graduate students in biotechnology take courses to expand their knowledge of drug and gene delivery, polymer science, nanoscale materials, biomaterials, and applied materials chemistry.