UROP Project
Loading Curcumin into Extracellular vesicles for targeted drug delivery in Cancer treatment
Drug Delivery, Extracellular vesicles, Cancer, Curcumin
Research Mentor: Jeeban Bhattarai, He/His
Department, College, Affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: jb24n@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: jb24n@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Biology, Biomedical Engineering
Project Location: 2001 Levy Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32310
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Biology, Biomedical Engineering
Project Location: 2001 Levy Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32310
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Not participating in the roundtable
Project Description
The complex microenvironment and adaptive nature of cancer cells are major challenges in treating any form of cancer. The use of extracellular vesicles or EVs, lipid bilayer particle released by every type of cells ,is being explored for therapeutics purposes in treating different cancers due to their cargo ability and minimal immune rejection. Curcumin, a pholyphenol drug used for treating various cancers, has a very low bioavailaibility in neuronal diseases in the brain due to en-route loss through oral delivery. To overcome this, loading curcumin into extracellualr vesicles can be benefecial to increase the drug availibility and to uplift the therapeutic effect. This study focusses on loading the curcumin into the EVs derived from stem cells and tumor cells by using different loading methods and plans to identify the changes in theraepeutic efficacy of curcumin.Research Tasks: Literature review, data collection and analysis
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Reviewing the literature
Mentoring Philosophy
My primary goal as a mentor is to foster a rich learning environment where we can both grow through our collaborative work. I strive to eliminate barriers related to cultural differences or knowledge levels, focusing instead on making complex concepts accessible. Having been a mentee myself, I am dedicated to sharing the strategies I used to overcome past challenges to help guide mentee’s path. While I am naturally introverted, I am fully committed to answering mentee’s questions and addressing mentee’s concerns completely. I encourage mentee to express mentee’s queries openly so I can fully support mentee.To maintain proper documentation, all core communication must take place via email. Secondary channels like verbal, text, or phone conversations are acceptable but must be strictly documented afterward. I will make myself fully available during our designated days and times. Because I also manage my own research projects, we must communicate expectations and agendas in advance so that we can both plan our tasks efficiently.