MAISEL LAB

We use in vitro modeling, nanotechnology, and immunoengineering approaches to study and develop treatments for diseases at mucosal surfaces. We are focused on studying the stromal compartment's, particularly the lymphatics', roles in disease pathology at mucosal surfaces and how the stromal compartment can be targeted for novel treatment strategies. Our work creates crucial fundamental knowledge about stromal cell involvement in disease pathology, and also leads to novel targets and design criteria for therapeutics.

Research Areas

Probing tissues with engineering tools

Assess temporal and spatial biodistribution kinetics within tissues of nanocarriers and model drugs with different size and molecular properties to a) understand how inflammation alters local tissue properties and lymphatic drainage, interstitial tissue spaces and cellular barriers b) develop design criteria for therapeutics in diseased tissues.

Designing therapeutics

Design novel therapeutic approaches for diseases at mucosal surfaces. We use nanotechnology and other delivery vehicles taking advantage of naturally occuring processes, such as fluid absorption, to enhance drug delivery for immunomodulation and local delivery to the mucosal surfaces.

**Developing in vitro models**

We use microfluidics and other systems to design in vitro platforms to study the role of stromal-immune cell interactions and distribution of antigens within stromal compartments in inflammatory diseases. These platforms can utilize primary cells from patient samples and thus allow for in vitro recapitulation of disease states, which can in turn be correlated with findings from in vivo disease models.