Kam W. Leong, James B. Duke Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Please note: Kam has left the "Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics" group at Duke University; some info here might not be up to date.

Professor Leong's research interest focuses on biomaterials design, particularly on synthesis of nanoparticles for DNA-based therapeutics, and nanostructured biomaterials for regenerative medicine

Biomaterials Design:

• design of self-assembled fibers for tissue engineering
• microfluidics-mediated synthesis of multifunctional nanoparticles for drug and gene delivery
• synthesis of novel quantum dots for biomedical applications

Controlled Drug and Gene Delivery:

• oral gene delivery for hemophilia A and B
• non-viral gene delivery to the GI tract
• oral delivery of antigen genes for vaccination

Tissue Engineering:

• study of response of stem cells to nanotopographical cues
• expansion of hematopoietic stem cells
• nerve guidance channels with drug and gene delivery functions
• microencapsulation of stem cells and genetically-engineered cells
• development of bioartificial nucleus pulposus device
• study of interaction of stem cells with synthetic nanostructured biomaterials

Contact Info:

Office Location:	1395 CIEMAS
Email Address:
Web Page:	http://www.leonglab.pratt.duke.edu/

Education:

PhD	University of Pennsylvania	1987
Postdoc	Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	1985
BS	University of California	1977

Specialties:

Biological Materials
Drug Delivery
Tissue Repair, Tissue Engineering
Biophotonics
Nanoscience

Curriculum Vitae

Representative Publications   (More Publications)

1. Ho, Y. P. and Leong, K. W., Quantum dot-based theranostics, Nanoscale, vol. 2 no. 1 (2010), pp. 60-68 [PDF] [abs]
2. Yim, E. K. F. and Darling, E. M. and Kulangara, K. and Guilak, F. and Leong, K. W., Nanotopography-induced changes in focal adhesions, cytoskeletal organization, and mechanical properties of human mesenchymal stem cells, Biomaterials, vol. 31 no. 6 (2010), pp. 1299-1306 [PDF] [abs]
3. Chen, S. and Jones, J. A. and Xu, Y. and Low, H. Y. and Anderson, J. M. and Leong, K. W., Characterization of topographical effects on macrophage behavior in a foreign body response model, Biomaterials, vol. 31 no. 13 (2010), pp. 3479-91 [PDF] [abs]
4. Chen, H. H. and Ho, Y. P. and Jiang, X. and Mao, H. Q. and Wang, T. H. and Leong, K. W., Simultaneous non-invasive analysis of DNA condensation and stability by two-step QD-FRET, Nano Today, vol. 4 no. 2 (2009), pp. 125-134 [PDF] [abs]
5. Oney, S. and Lam, R. T. S. and Bompiani, K. M. and Blake, C. M. and Quick, G. and Heidel, J. D. and Liu, J. Y. C. and Mack, B. C. and Davis, M. E. and Leong, K. W. and Sullenger, B. A., Development of universal antidotes to control aptamer activity, Nature Medicine, vol. 15 no. 10 (2009), pp. 1224-1228 [PDF] [abs]