Steven R. Little

Steven R. Little is a Distinguished Professor and the William Kepler Whiteford Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering. He also holds secondary appointments in Bioengineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Immunology, Ophthalmology, and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. His research focuses on biomimetic systems for drug delivery, immunotherapy, and regenerative medicine, addressing challenges in transplantation, periodontitis, and chronic inflammatory diseases.

• Education: BS in Chemical Engineering (Youngstown State University), PhD in Chemical Engineering (MIT)
• Affiliations: Department Chair of Chemical Engineering, Co-founder of Qrono Inc.

Research Interests: Developing drug delivery systems to treat inflammation and environmental challenges. Key areas include controlled release formulations, biomaterials, and therapies for autoimmune diseases, ocular conditions, and transplant rejection. His lab explores innovative approaches like thermoresponsive hydrogels and microparticle-based delivery systems.

Articles highlight advancements in targeted drug delivery for ocular diseases, periodontal inflammation, and environmental nitrogen management. Themes include biomaterial design, immunomodulation, and translational medicine.

• Awards: AAAS Fellow (2022), NAI Fellow (2022), Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award (2012), Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar (2012)

Advising and grants: Mentored numerous students and secured funding for projects on immunosuppressive systems and biomaterials. Grants include NIH K-Awards and Coulter Translational Research support.

Labs/Teams: Principal Investigator of the Little Lab, collaborating with clinicians and engineers to translate research into clinical applications.