Welcoming new faces to MatSE
Urara Hasegawa is an assistant professor. Prior to joining Penn State, she was an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Kansas State University.
Her research focuses on the development of polymeric nanomaterials for controlled delivery of drug and bioactive signaling molecules. Her particular interest is on endogenous generation of reactive oxygen species and gasotransmitters such as nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide and their biological activities.
“In my research, I am seeking to develop drug delivery systems for targeted and controlled delivery of therapeutic agents by applying the fundamental principles of polymer chemistry, materials science, biology, and biomedical science,” said Hasegawa.
Currently, her group is developing polymeric nanomaterials that can generate, scavenge, or respond to these molecules. Her work includes design and synthesis of polymeric nanomaterials using various polymerization techniques, such as reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization and aqueous dispersion polymerization, and biological evaluation of these nanomaterials in cell culture and biological systems. These polymeric nano-platforms are useful not only for therapeutic applications but also for unveiling the physiological or pathological roles of these tiny bioactive molecules in the human body.
Hasegawa received her B.S. and M.Eng. in applied chemistry from Waseda University, Japan. She earned her Ph.D. in biomedical science from Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan, and then, worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Professor Jeffrey Hubbell at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. She joined the Department of Applied Chemistry at Osaka University, Japan, as an assistant professor in 2011.
Learn more about the Hasegwawa Research Group