Ambika Bajpayee

Associate Professor Ambika Bajpayee at Northeastern University's College of Engineering leads the Molecular Bioelectrostatics & Drug Delivery Lab. She holds affiliations with the Department of Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, and the Global Resilience Institute. Her research focuses on drug delivery to charged tissues like cartilage, leveraging bio-electrostatics and nanomedicine to design carriers for therapeutic agents. Key areas include osteoarthritis treatment, cartilage repair, and contrast agent development for early disease diagnosis.

Education: PhD in Mechanical Engineering (MIT, 2015), MEng (MIT, 2007), BS (University of Delhi, 2006). Awards include the 2025 PECASE, NSF CAREER Award (2021), and Søren Buus Outstanding Research Award (2022).

Research emphasizes cationic carriers for penetrating dense tissues, exosome engineering for gene delivery, and biomechanical studies of cartilage degeneration. Notable projects include NIH-funded work on IL-1RA delivery and cationic contrast agents for CT imaging.

Advises students like Tanvi Vinod Pathrikar (PhD ’24) and Helna Mary Baby (PhD student). Lab collaborations span institutions like Columbia University and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Publications highlight advancements in cartilage targeting and therapeutic retention mechanisms.