Dr Yi (David) Ju’s research focuses on a central challenge in nanomedicine: how to deliver drugs and gene therapies safely and precisely to the right cells and tissues in the human body. Nanoparticles, especially lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), are promising delivery vehicles for mRNA therapies, yet the immune system often recognises and removes them before they reach their target. This can reduce effectiveness, cause side effects, and lead to highly variable outcomes among patients. Because of this, understanding how nanoparticles interact with blood components and immune defences—often called bio–nano interactions—is critical for turning nanomedicine’s promise into reliable therapies.
Dr Ju has uncovered how individual immune responses shape the fate of nanoparticles in the body. He was the first to show that mRNA vaccines boost anti-PEG antibodies in humans and has provided key insights into how mRNA–LNPs behave in human blood after vaccination. Building on these findings, Dr Ju is now designing next-generation targeted LNPs that evade immune clearance and deliver mRNA precisely into cancer cells or immune cells. His work is laying the foundation for safer, more effective mRNA therapies that could treat hard-to-reach tumours and other serious diseases with limited treatment options.