(2mh) Empowering Health through Engineering: Utilization of Drug Delivery and Nanotechnology Towards Improved Health Equity

Dr. Olivia Lanier aspires to be a tenure-track faculty member with research interests in drug delivery, nanotechnology, autoimmune diseases, and health equity. Her primary research objective is to pioneer innovative drug delivery platforms, focusing on patient-friendly administration routes like oral, ocular, nasal, and vaginal delivery to replace the prevalent infusion-based therapies. These infusions not only pose accessibility challenges but also contribute to persistent health disparities, especially for individuals battling cancer and autoimmune conditions; thus, replacing these with drug delivery platforms that the patients can self-administer at home will be more globally accessible. Dr. Lanier is currently working with Dr. Nicholas Peppas as a Provost Early Career Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin to develop an oral drug delivery platform for siRNA for inflammatory bowel disease as an alternative treatment to the current infusions, and she will continue this work as a faculty member. In addition to this, Dr. Lanier will research vaginal delivery of various biologics for women’s health that can currently only be delivered by infusion and will benefit from a local delivery route. Beyond her specific research endeavors, Dr. Lanier is committed to investigating sex-based differences in nanoparticle performance, scrutinizing cellular, microenvironmental, and systemic levels. Understanding these variations will enable her to customize nanoparticle material characteristics, optimizing their efficacy for sex-specific nanomedicines, a pivotal stride in tailoring healthcare solutions to individual needs.

Teaching interests:

My teaching interests align with both core Biomedical Engineering (BME) and Chemical Engineering (ChE) courses, particularly focusing on essential topics such as kinetics, transport, and fluid dynamics. I also have a strong enthusiasm for instructing specialized courses in drug delivery, nanotechnology, and health equity. My previous experiences have solidified my passion for teaching. At the University of Texas at Austin, I developed and instructed "Ensuring Health Equity in Engineering Design." During my time at the University of Florida, I served as a Teaching Assistant for BME 5401 Graduate Physiology and BME 3323L Cell Engineering Lab, gaining valuable insights into the intricacies of instructional dynamics. Additionally, I co-instructed the IDH 2931 Honors Seminar in Scientific Inquiry (Intro to BME), further honing my teaching capabilities. Beyond classroom settings, I have mentored a diverse group of students, including 22 undergraduate students and 7 PhD students within the lab environment, fostering a hands-on and mentorship-focused approach to education.