Expertise

Assistant Professor, Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Engineering

Menon’s research group is working at the interface of nanotechnology, biomaterials and tissue engineering to develop novel biomimetic approaches to study and treat cancer, fibrosis and inflammation with a focus on diseases affecting the lungs. The nanoparticle formulations developed by her lab are inhalable, non-toxic, and made of biocompatible and biodegradable materials. These formulations can be used to encapsulate and deliver drugs, proteins, antibodies or genetic materials. She is also engaged in developing three-dimensional tissue-engineered models of healthy and diseased human tissue for use in drug development and precision medicine. Menon’s lab is very interested in collaborations to formulate nanoparticles for drug delivery to study and prevent biofilm formation. She is also interested in collaborating to use the biologically relevant systems developed in her laboratory to study the interactions of micro- and nano-plastics with cells and tissues within the body.

“People are getting increasingly exposed to plastics through occupational exposure, inhalation and ingestion. Plastics accumulation in the body can lead to chronic inflammation and a host of other diseases including cancer. Researchers have only recently started looking into how cells in the body interact with plastics. In my lab we are developing tissue-engineered 3D cell models, which are more representative of cell arrangement in the body. Therefore these 3D models are expected to mimic human responses and outcomes following plastics exposure more accurately than conventional cell cultures on petri dishes and cell culture plastics. We are particularly interested in how cells in the airways and the alveoli interact with micro- and nano-plastics following inhalation exposure.”

Links

Faculty website

Fabrication of PNIPAm-based thermoresponsive hydrogel microwell arrays for tumor spheroid formation

Tumor Model Development