Q&A with Dr. Lisa Volpatti: Turning Bad Cholesterol Into a Good Drug Delivery Vehicle

While pursuing her PhD at MIT, Lisa Volpatti attended her advisor’s 70th birthday celebration — an event that was half party, half scientific conference. Colleagues and students of renowned bioengineer Bob Langer gathered to present research and give speeches.

Witnessing the impact her advisor had on so many scientists solidified Volpatti’s desire for a career as a faculty member training the next generation of researchers. Last year she achieved that goal by becoming an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern University.

This year Volpatti received a PhRMA Foundation Faculty Starter Grant in Drug Delivery for her efforts to create a novel drug delivery system that treats inflammation by taking advantage of the body’s natural systems. Her research uses “bad cholesterol” particles in the body as vehicles to deliver medicine directly to inflamed tissues. By designing proteins that attach to these particles, she can build a delivery system that brings medicines directly to diseased cells, sparing healthy ones.

Watch this video to learn more about Volpatti and her research.