Main ContentGene Leflore Bidwell III, PhD
My research interests include targeted drug delivery, therapeutic peptides, and protein-based therapeutics. Our lab’s focus includes engineering protein carriers for delivery of peptide and protein-based therapeutics in several disease models.
One of our current areas of focus is drug delivery during pregnancy. We are developing carriers that can be fused to therapeutic agents, including chemotherapeutics, peptides, and proteins, that prevent them from crossing the placenta and reaching the baby. Our goal is to develop a means to treat disorders of pregnancy (such as preeclampsia), or to deliver drugs currently unsafe for use during pregnancy, to pregnant patients without risking harm to the developing fetus from drug exposure.
A second area of interest in my lab is delivery of neurotrophic growth factors to the brain for therapy of neurological disorders. Fusion of growth factors as chimeras with our protein carriers allows us to easily purify the agents after recombinant expression and stabilizes them for use in vivo. We are currently testing neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory therapeutics for treatment of ischemic stroke.
Our lab also has an interest in therapeutic angiogenesis for kidney disease. We are examining the use of carrier-fused, kidney-targeted growth factors for protection or regeneration of renal vasculature in the context of renal artery stenosis and chronic kidney disease.
Our lab is also developing a drug delivery system for administering therapeutics to the eye. We are working to create anti-angiogenic and anti-microbial agents that have corneal penetrating capability to treat ocular disorders such as corneal neovascularization and bacterial keratitis.