Kelsey SwingleView profile
Assistant Professor
Kelsey Swingle is an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Rice University, where she leads the Swingle Lab at the intersection of biomaterials science, immune engineering, and reproductive biology. Her research focuses on engineering therapeutic and vaccine technologies with translational potential. Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania B.S.E. in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University Dr. Swingle’s research explores the design of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) and nucleic acid therapeutics for women’s health applications, including pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, and gynecologic cancers. Her work integrates bioengineering principles with immune modulation strategies to develop targeted therapies. The trends in her publications highlight advancements in LNP elasticity optimization for placental mRNA delivery, targeted systemic RNA delivery to the brain, and in utero gene editing applications. Her lab prioritizes interdisciplinary approaches to overcome biological barriers in women’s health. 2025 Solomon R. Pollack Award for Excellence in Graduate Bioengineering Research 2024 Muriel Joan Drew Hege Award for Women in Cellular Immunotherapy Research 2024 Penn Engineering Outstanding Teaching Award 2023 Gordon Research Conference Travel Award 2022 Society for Biomaterials STAR Award 2020 NSF Graduate Research Fellowship The Swingle Lab collaborates with the Texas Medical Center to develop precision nanomedicines. Her team employs in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models to study biomaterial interactions with female-specific tissues, emphasizing translational research and inclusive scientific communication.










