Sun Lab
Welcome to the Sun Lab. Our research focuses on the rational design of nanomedicine to enhance combination therapy, a promising approach that offers several advantages over single-drug treatments. Combination therapies can synergistically kill cancer cells, as one drug may alter the tumor cells' response to the second, improving treatment efficacy. Tumors are genetically and phenotypically heterogeneous, meaning that different cancer cells may respond to different drugs. By combining therapies, we aim to target a broader range of tumor cells, increasing therapeutic efficacy while reducing dose-associated toxicity.
Compared to conventional free drug combinations, utilizing nanocarriers to co-deliver multiple drugs offers significant improvements in pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and the ability to deliver drugs in their optimal dosage directly to tumor sites. This strategy not only minimizes side effects but also enhances the synergistic effects of the drugs, making treatment more effective. However, the clinical application of nanomedicines for cancer combination therapy remains limited, mainly due to the challenges in co-delivering drugs with differing physicochemical properties.
To address these challenges, our lab employs interdisciplinary approaches to develop precision nanomedicines, particularly polymer-based formulations, aimed at improving the co-delivery and therapeutic efficacy of cancer treatments. Our long-term goal is to create more effective, personalized treatments for cancer patients by overcoming the limitations of current nanocarrier technologies.
The research interests in our lab include: design and development of nanocarriers for efficient delivery of small molecular agents and/or therapeutic genes (e.g. siRNA, plasmid, miRNA) into tumors for cancer therapy, the development of new strategies to overcome the major barriers in clinical translation of nanomedicines and investigation of the underlying mechanism behind the nanomedicine-based cancer immunotherapy and targeted therapy.
- Co-delivery of small molecule drugs for cancer combination therapy (e.g. chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy).
- Co-delivery of nucleic acid (siRNA, miRNA and mRNA) and small molecule drugs for cancer prevention or combination therapy.
- Investigate the interaction between nanocarrier, therapeutic agents and biological system.