معرفی
Rebecca Carrier is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Northeastern University, specializing in mucosal drug delivery and intestinal barrier function. Her work focuses on engineering biomimetic systems to study drug-mucus interactions, microbial dynamics, and gut physiology. She pioneered the development of gut-on-a-chip models to simulate human intestinal environments and has received a $1.8 million NIH grant to investigate lipid roles in drug absorption. Her research bridges chemical engineering, biomedical sciences, and pharmaceutical technologies.
- Education: Advanced degrees in chemical engineering and biomaterials science (details not specified).
- Labs/Teams: Leads Northeastern's gut microphysiological systems initiative, collaborating with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners.
Her research interests include optimizing drug delivery systems using mucus-mimetic materials and understanding how dietary lipids modulate gut barrier properties. She explores hydrogen sulfide's role in gut health and develops biosensors for anaerobic microenvironments. Carrier's organ-on-a-chip platforms enable study of Crohn's disease and microbial-host interactions, offering preclinical models for drug efficacy and toxicity testing.
Recent studies highlight mucus's role in stabilizing drug supersaturation and its implications for oral formulations. She advocates for biorelevant in vitro models to predict drug behavior in physiological conditions. Carrier's interdisciplinary approach integrates microfluidics, polymer chemistry, and synthetic biology to address challenges in gastrointestinal health and drug delivery.
Grant funding supports her work on lipid-enhanced drug absorption and mucosal barrier strengthening. She mentors graduate students in bioengineering and collaborates on projects like engineered bacteria for hydrogen sulfide regulation. Carrier's lab also develops decellularized extracellular matrix scaffolds for retinal regeneration studies, showcasing her broader impact in regenerative medicine.
