Author: btp.lab@gmail.com
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ACS 2025 HopeTalks
Last week, I was invited to share my group’s research on pancreatic cancer at 2025 HopeTalks hosted by the UIUC Chapter of American Cancer Society. The enthusiasm and curiosity exhibited by the student attendees were truly inspiring.
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Legacy of Cook County Hospital
During my visit to the University of Illinois Chicago in February 2025, I lodged in a hotel with unique exterior and interior. The hotel has a small museum about its history. This hotel building was the old Cook County Hospital building which has a rich history of addressing healthcare disparity across Chicago. It was an…
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Tarun defended his PhD dissertation.
Tarun successfully defended his PhD dissertation, entitled “Development of a healthy pancreas model for environmental pollutants testing and drug discovery.” In this work, he test the tumorigenic potential of PFOA, a member of PFAS family, using a microphysiological model of pancreatic acinus with reprogrammed pancreatic cancer cells. During this study, he also investigated the feasbility…
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Advancing Precision Imaging in Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most challenging cancers to diagnose and treat, largely due to its dense tumor microenvironment. Our latest study in Advanced Science takes a significant step forward by developing DNA origami-cyanine (Do-Cy) nanocomplexes – a novel approach for selectively imaging KRAS-mutant pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs) while excluding cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). By…
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Precision Imaging of Pancreatic Cancer Cells
A collaborative paper reporting precision imaging of pancreatic cancer cells in the desmoplastic tumor microenvironment using DNA origami-Cy nanocomplex is published with Dr. Jong Hyun Choi’s group in the Journal Advanced Science. In this study, we target KRAS-dependent macropinocytosis to selectively labeling cancer cells. Throughout the study, we also demonstrated that engineered tumor models could…
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Transport for Biomanufacturing
In this project, we are working on microfluidics and 3D printing technologies for distributed and agile manufacturing technologies for nucleic acids (i.e, mRNA and DNA)-based nanomaterials and cell-based hydrogels. We are investigation transport of fluidcs and particulates during the manufacturing processes to create biomaterials with advanced functionalities. This is also to address the significant worldwide…
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Information Transport during Cell Migration
Cells are amazing sensory machinery to detect and process highly complex environmental signals in their microenvironment, including chemical (i.e., concentration of molecules), mechanical (i.e., force or displacement), and flow signals. These signals also varies in time and space. Cells need to decipher (i.e., compare, integrate and process) these signals to determine the migration direction. This…
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Transport at the blood-brain interface
The transport in the brain exhibits numerous unique pathophysiological characteristics, including a tightly regulated blood-brain barrier and circadian rhythm. The normal blood-brain barrier precisely controls the transvascular transport of cells, molecules, and drugs. Its permeability periodically fluctuates in accordance with the circadian rhythm. These are precisely orchestrated processes that ultimately impact neuronal activities and cognitive…
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Transport in the PDAC TME
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most prevalent cancer types in pancreatic cancer. PDAC poses a significant unmet clinical need with a dismal 5-year survival rate of 13% in 2024. PDAC is highly desmoplastic tumor, of which 90% of tissue volume is stroma stissue and only 10% is occupied by cancer cells. The stroma consists…
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Group Photo in 2025
First group photo at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. When: Feburary 20, 2025 Where: CIF at UIUC Who: Ali, Duy, Natalia, Hogyeong, Bumsoo, Sae Rome, Anthony, Seamus, Benny
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Cong Khan Duy Do, PhD Student
Duy is conducting his PhD study in Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He gradudated with BS and MSE in Aviation Engineering from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST), Vietman. His research regards the ML-guided 3D printing of soft materials.
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Benny Wang, PhD Student
Benny is conducting his PhD study in Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He gradudated with BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois. His research regards the microfluidics-based nanoparticle synthesis for cancer therapy.