A researcher from the University of South Florida’s College of Medicine will speak on the biomedical applications of nanotechnology at 1 p.m. Thursday, June 15, in Room 101 West Virginia University’s National Research Center for Coal and Energy (NRCCE) on the Evansdale Campus.

Professor Shyam S. Mohapatra is the director of basic research at the USF College of Medicine’s Joy McCann Culverhouse Airway Disease Center .

�€?With the development of genomics, proteomics, and nanotechnology, the prospects for putting these technologies to use in biological applications have been significantly enhanced,�€? Mohapatra said. �€?The applications range from probing intra-cellular molecular mechanisms, to running diagnostics, to developing nano-devices and nanoparticle carriers for drug delivery.�€?

Dr. Mohapatra will review some of the diagnostic and drug delivery applications pursued by his research group. The diagnostics include applications of nanotubes, nanoparticles and MEMS -based gold nanowires. The therapeutic applications include targeted drug delivery technologies such as the delivery of genes, peptides and small molecular drugs by chitosan-based nanoparticles.

Mohapatra’s current research at the USF Airway Disease Center is directed toward prophylactic and therapeutic modulation of upper and lower airway diseases, including allergen- and/or respiratory syncytial virus-induced lung inflammation and asthma using nanogene expression therapy. His lab has developed specific expertise in designing viral and non-viral vectors for gene transfer and delivering genes by novel methods into mammaliam cells in vitro and in vivo.

The seminar is sponsored by the WVU Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. For more information, contact Professor Mridul Gautam, 304-293-3111, ext. 2312, or email mgautam@mail.wvu.edu .