RNA Working Group

RNA Design, Synthesis, Production, and Purification

Goal:

Improve tools for designing and optimizing RNA and fill the knowledge gaps in our understanding of how to synthesize RNA. 

Research projects include: 
  1. Al-assisted optimization of RNA untranslated regions (UTR) and coding sequences.
  2. Optimizing methods for solid-phase synthesis of long RNAs.
  3. Evolving RNA polymerase to introduce new modifications during in vitro transcription.
  4. Investigating effects of novel mRNA chemical modifications.
Tech development:

Parallel production of multiple RNAs

Team PIs

Mohamad-Gabriel Alameh, PhD

Assistant Professor, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Penn, CHOP Expertise: mRNA Production, Ionizable Lipids, RNA Production & Purification (TIG-1 Lead)

Yoseph Barash, PhD

Professor of Genetics, Penn Expertise: Machine Learning, RNA Biogenesis & Function, RNA Design & Synthesis (MRG-1 Lead)

Kathy Fange Liu, PhD

Associate Professor, Biochemistry & Biophysics, Penn Expertise: RNA Biology & Enzymology, RNA Design & Synthesis (MRG-1)

Jacob Gardner, PhD

Assistant Professor, CIS, Penn Expertise: Machine Learning for Scientific Discovery, AI & Knowledge Sharing (MRG-1)

Drew Weissman, MD, PhD

Sr. Associate Director of Technology Development Coordination Roberts Family Professor in Vaccine Research, Penn Director, Institute for RNA Innovation, Penn Expertise: mRNA Vaccines, Lipid Nanoparticles, RNA Design & Synthesis

Lijun Zhou, PhD

Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Biophysics, Penn Expertise: Nucleic Acid Chemistry, Non-natural Nucleic Acids, RNA Design & Synthesis (MRG-1)

LNP Working Group

Nanoparticle Delivery Vehicle Design, Testing, Production and Automation

Goal:

Develop a deeper understanding of the quantitative relationships between the structure and activity of delivery vehicles for targeted delivery of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to cells, tissues, and organs. 

Research projects include: 
  1. Advance very large-scale microfluidic integration for self-driving Al-driven discovery
  2. Establish structure-activity relationships via modular, “simple” lipid chemistry.
  3. Develop Al-driven targeted delivery of LNPs to specific cells, tissues, and organs.
Tech development:

Robust and rapid production of multiple lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations.

Team PIs

Maribella Domenech, PhD

Professor, Chemical Engineering, UPRM Expertise: Lipid Nanoparticles, Cytotoxic Response, LNP Design & Testing (MRG-2 Lead)

David Issadore, PhD

Associate Director of Research Coordination Professor, Bioengineering, Penn Expertise: Microfluidics, Diagnostics, Nanofabrication, LNP Production (TIG-2 Lead)

Claribel Acevedo-Vélez, PhD

Associate Director of Education Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, UPRM Expertise: Nanotechnology, Colloids, Liquid Crystals, Biosensors

Daeyeon Lee, PhD

AIRFoundry Director Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Penn Expertise: Nano/biomanufacturing, Microfluidics, LNP Production

Michael Mitchell, PhD

Associate Professor, Bioengineering, Penn Expertise: Lipid Nanoparticles, LNP Design & Testing (MRG-2)

Vladimir Muzykantov, MD, PhD

Founders Professor in Nanoparticle Research, Pharmacology, Penn Founding Co-Director, Center for Targeted Therapeutics and Translational Nanomedicine (CT3N), Penn Expertise: Targeted Drug Delivery, Vascular Biology, LNP Design & Testing (MRG-2)

Camilo Mora Navarro, PhD

Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, UPRM Expertise: Tissue-specific Lipid Nanoparticles, Microfluidics, LNP Production (MRG-2)

Sagar Yadavali, PhD

CEO and Co-Founder, InfiniFluidics Expertise: Nano/Microparticle Manufacturing, LNP Production (TIG-2)

AI + Knowledge Sharing Working Group

Goal:

Develop a platform (KAIR) that uses AI to augment human expertise to provide users with end-to-end assistance in developing RNA synthesis and delivery projects.

Research projects include: 
  1. Advance expert-informed AI tools for iteratively creating pipeline jobs
  2. Develop dynamically updated reviews of knowledge in the field
Tech development:

Cross-cutting tools, data management, inline toxin detection and integration between software, simulation, and the physical facility.

Team PIs

Zachary G. Ives, PhD

Associate Director of Knowledge Sharing Adani President’s Distinguished Professor and Department Chair, Computer & Information Science, Penn Expertise: Data Integration & Sharing, Data Provenance & Trustworthiness, Artificial Intelligence (MRG-3 Lead)

Masoud Soroush, PhD

George B. Francis Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Drexel Expertise: Process Modeling, Optimization & Automation (TIG-3 Lead)

Jacob Gardner, PhD

Assistant Professor, CIS, Penn Expertise: Machine Learning for Scientific Discovery, AI & Knowledge Sharing (MRG-1)

Joost Wagenaar, PhD

Assistant Professor of Informatics, Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Penn Expertise: Biomedical Data Sharing/Hosting Platform, AI & Knowledge Sharing (MRG-3, TIG-3)

Rodolfo Romañach, PhD

Professor, Chemistry, UPRM Expertise: Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, Inline Analytics (TIG-3, Industry Liaison)