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Santiago Correa

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Email[email protected]

Santiago Correa’s research operates at the interface of materials science, nanotechnology, and immunology to engineer the immune system and improve human health.

Research Interests

Drug Delivery, Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine, Gene Delivery, Biomimetic Materials, Supramolecular Chemistry, Immune Modulation, Immunoengineering, Cancer Therapy, Autoimmune Therapy, Neuroimmunotherapy, , Biomaterials, Cell-Material Interfaces, Organ-On-A-Chip

Links

Lab Website

Dr. Correa develops biomaterials composed of nano-scale building blocks, which are used to reprogram the body’s immune system to fight cancer, autoimmune disease, and infection.

Taking inspiration from nature, Dr. Correa engineers this next-generation technology via supramolecular self-assembly across length scales – first by constructing bioinspired multifunctional nanoparticles that, in turn, self-assemble to produce macroscopic biomaterials imbued with unprecedented immuno-modulatory capabilities.

Dr. Correa obtained his BS in Biomedical Engineering at Yale prior to completing a PhD in Biological Engineering at MIT. While in the Hammond Lab at MIT, he explored how nanoparticle surface chemistry could be engineered to better target ovarian cancer and to fabricate multifunctional nanomaterials. Afterwards, Dr. Correa completed his postdoctoral training as an NCI F32 Fellow in the Appel Lab at Stanford, where he developed immunomodulatory biomaterials to treat cancer.

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, 2018-2022
  • Ph.D. in Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012-2018
  • B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, 2008-2012

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
  • Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 2023-

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
  • Society for Biomaterials
  • Biomedical Engineering Society
  • American Chemical Society, Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering
  • Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM) LatinXinBME
  • Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS)

HONORS & AWARDS
  • Rising Stars in Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, 2021
  • Soft Matter for All Early Career Speaker, Princeton University & University of Delaware, 2021
  • UNITE Featured Speaker, Biomedical Engineering Society, 2021
  • PMSE Future Faculty Scholar, American Chemical Society, 2021
  • Rising Stars in Engineering in Health, Columbia University, 2020
  • Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F32), National Cancer Institute 2019
  • Siebel Scholar, Siebel Foundation, 2018
  • Sloan University Centers for Exemplary Mentoring Scholar, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 2016
  • Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2012
  • Lemelson Engineering Presidential Fellowship, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012
  • Dean’s Diversity Fellowship, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012
  • Science, Technology and Research Scholar, Yale University, 2012

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Select pre-prints

  • Correa S, Gale EC, Mayer AT, Xiao Z, Liong C, Klich JH, Brown RA, Meany E, Saouaf O, Maikawa CL, Grosskopf AK, Mann JL, Idoyaga J, Appel EA. Injectable Nanoparticle-Based Hydrogels Enable the Safe and Effective Deployment of Immunostimulatory CD40 Agonist Antibodies. bioRxiv. 2021 June 28. doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.27.449987

Select peer-reviewed publications

  • Correa S†, Grosskopf AK†, Klich JH, Hernandez HL, Appel EA. Injectable Liposome Based Supramolecular Hydrogels for the Programmable Release of Multiple Protein Drugs. Matter. (In press)
  • Correa S, Grosskopf A, Lopez Hernandez H, Chan D, Yu A, Stapleton L, Appel EA. Translational Applications of Hydrogels. Chemical Reviews. 2021; Article ASAP. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c01177
  • Correa S, Boehnke N, Barberio AE, Deiss-Yehiely E, Shi A, Oberlton B, Smith SG, Zervantonakis I, Dreaden EC, Hammond PT. Tuning Nanoparticle Interactions with Ovarian Cancer through Layer-by-Layer Modification of Surface Chemistry. ACS Nano. 2020; 14(2):2224-37. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.9b09213
  • Boehnke N†, Correa S†, Hao L†, Wang W, Straehla JP, Bhatia SN, Hammond PT. Theranostic Layer-by-Layer Nanoparticles for Simultaneous Tumor Detection and Gene Silencing. Angewandte Chemie. 2020; 59, 2776. doi: 10.1002/anie.201911762
  • Correa S†, Boehnke N†, Deiss-Yehiely E, Hammond PT. Solution Conditions Tune and Optimize Loading of Therapeutic Polyelectrolytes into Layer-by-Layer Functionalized Liposomes. ACS Nano. 2019;13(5):5623-5634. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.9b00792
  • Correa S†, Dreaden EC†, Gu L, Hammond PT. Engineering Nanolayered Particles for Modular Drug Delivery. Journal of Controlled Release. 2016;240:364-386. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2016.01.040
  • Correa S, Choi KY, Dreaden EC, Renggli K, Shi A, Gu L, Shopsowitz KE, Quadir MA, Ben-Akiva E, Hammond PT. Highly Scalable, Closed-Loop Synthesis of Drug-Loaded, Layer-by-Layer Nanoparticles. Advanced Functional Materials. 2016;26(7):991-1003. doi: 10.1002/adfm.201504385

† Indicates co-first authors