Bioengineering professor Min Jee Jang has received the NIH Trailblazer Award for her proposal to develop new methods of delivering RNA-based therapies to the brain. The NIH Trailblazer Award is a prestigious honor for new and early-stage investigators. Providing $400,000 over the course of three years, the grant is meant for particularly novel research—areas where there is very little or no preliminary data. “With this support, we aim to expand the molecular toolkit for both delivery vehicles and available cargos for brain-targeted therapy,” said Jang.
Written by Ben Libman
Professor Min Jee Jang
Bioengineering professor Min Jee Jang has received the NIH Trailblazer Award for her proposal to develop new methods of delivering RNA-based therapies to the brain. The NIH Trailblazer Award is a prestigious honor for new and early-stage investigators. Providing $400,000 over the course of three years, the grant is meant for particularly novel research—areas where there is very little or no preliminary data.
Jang expressed her excitement at being selected. “This is my first NIH grant as a principal investigator, so it means a lot to me.”
The proposal revolves around delivering RNA treatments to the brain. RNA-based therapies are being used to treat many serious diseases, but researchers don’t have a reliable way to deliver RNA to the brain. This is because of the blood-brain barrier—a protective layer of tightly packed cells that helps keep diseases and other harmful substances out of the brain. Though the blood-brain barrier is a crucial part of the body’s defenses, it also thwarts many existing drug delivery systems, making treatment of the brain challenging.
Jang’s novel solution is to use engineered particles, designed somewhat like viruses, that can carry therapeutic RNA through this barrier and deliver the treatment to the brain via the bloodstream. The project’s two primary aims are to engineer virus-like particles (VLPs) that can cross the blood-brain barrier and to develop a screening system to test and select the most promising VLPs. Together, these aims could expand the range of tools available for delivering treatments to the brain.
“With this support, we aim to expand the molecular toolkit for both delivery vehicles and available cargos for brain-targeted therapy,” said Jang.
This technology could also be adapted to deliver other types of therapeutic cargo, including gene-editing machinery, and may be used to target organs beyond the brain.
Jang also wanted to thank her support system, saying, “this research would not be possible without the support of my lab members, administrative staff, and mentors, including senior faculty members in the Department of Bioengineering and at Illinois.”