Kathryn Whitehead

Kathryn Whitehead is Professor of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University with courtesy appointment in Biomedical Engineering. Her lab engineers lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for RNA/protein delivery with applications in vaccines, cancer therapy, and maternal-infant health.

Research breakthroughs:

• LNP chemistry-immunogenicity relationships
• Oral delivery platforms for biologics
• Breast milk cell engineering for infant therapy
• Pregnancy-safe nanotherapeutics

Recent work explains immune activation mechanisms of COVID-19 vaccine components and enables organ-targeted RNA delivery. Awards include NIH Director’s Innovator Award and TED Talk on LNP technology. Patents licensed for therapeutic development.