Shawn D Hingtgen

Shawn D. Hingtgen is an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, holding dual appointments in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy (Division of Pharmacoengineering and Molecular Pharmaceutics) and the Department of Neurosurgery at the UNC School of Medicine. His research focuses on developing stem cell-based therapies to treat terminal cancers, particularly glioblastoma, breast cancer, and lung cancer. His lab integrates molecular biology, targeted therapeutics, and imaging to enhance drug delivery and tumor eradication.

Education:

• B.S. in Biology, University of Iowa (1994–1998)
• Ph.D. in Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Iowa (1998–2004)
• Postdoctoral Fellowships at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital

Research Interests:

His work centers on engineering induced neural stem cells (iNSCs) to target and kill cancer cells. Key areas include:

• Developing tumor-homing iNSCs armed with anti-cancer payloads
• Optimizing biomaterial matrices (e.g., hydrogels, nanofibers) for stem cell delivery
• Combining iNSC therapy with immunotherapies (e.g., CAR-T cells)
• Non-invasive imaging for real-time monitoring of tumor response

His lab also pioneers organotypic brain slice cultures to model heterogeneous tumors and test personalized therapies.

Recent Article Trends:

Recent work emphasizes enhancing therapeutic efficacy through:

• Combination therapies (e.g., TRAIL-secreting iNSCs + TR-107)
• 3D-printed hydrogel scaffolds for sustained drug delivery
• Exosome-based delivery systems to penetrate the blood-brain barrier
• Immunotherapy synergies (e.g., CAR-T cells + cytokine-armed iNSCs)

Awards and Honors:

• 2021 – Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
• 2018 – UNC Hettleman Prize for Young Faculty
• 2014 – Society for Neuro-Oncology Young Investigator Award
• 2013 – Finalist, Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award

Advising and Grants:

He leads a lab with ~10 researchers (postdocs, graduate students, undergraduates). Active grants include:

• NIH R01 awards for stem cell matrices and glioblastoma adaption studies
• Eshelman Institute for Innovation funding ($9.4M+ for drug delivery systems)

Labs and Collaborations:

His lab is part of the Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery at UNC. Collaborations include:

• Falcon Therapeutics (spinout company advancing iNSC therapies)
• UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
• Industry partnerships for clinical translation