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Associate Vice President for Research, Bighley Chair and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iowa

Aliasger K Salem’s research focuses on applying nanotechnology-based approaches to improve therapeutic efficacy and reduce adverse side effects. He was the first to show that metallic nanorods could be engineered with targeting ligands and therapeutic agents in spatially defined regions, which led to the development of nanoparticles loaded with CpG and antigens as vaccines. He also developed synthetically lethal nanoparticles for treating endometrial cancer, and demonstrated that chemically modified RNA can be used to effectively regrow bone and cartilage.

We asked…

What are your research goals?

My research goals are focused on leading interdisciplinary research teams that implement and develop drug delivery systems and solutions to improve therapeutic efficacy and reduce adverse side effects.

What inspires you day to day?

I am inspired by the amazing students, trainees, and postdoctoral fellows that I work with. Developing and supporting the next generation of pharmaceutical scientists and drug delivery researchers has been one of the great joys of my career.

What was the most important development in drug discovery and development over the past decade?

I believe that immunotherapy breakthroughs like immune checkpoint blockade therapies, CRISPR-Cas9 technologies that allow for gene editing, and modified RNA therapies are three of the most important developments in drug discovery and development. Drug delivery systems have been crucial to the translation of these breakthroughs into the clinic.