Hasan Uludag, PhD
Contact
Professor, Faculty of Engineering - Chemical and Materials Engineering Dept
- huludag@ualberta.ca
- Address
-
12-370 Donadeo Innovation Centre For Engineering
9211 116 StEdmonton ABT6G 2H5
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Biomaterials Nanomaterials and Nanofabrication Gene Therapy Cancer Therapy
About
Dr. Hasan Uludağ has been with the University of Alberta since 1997, currently based at the Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering. He holds joint appoints at the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry and Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences. Dr. Uludağ is directing interdisciplinary research programs on experimental therapeutics, specifically focusing of designing functional biomaterials to realize the potential of new, unconventional therapeutic agents. His research activity is conducted in the context of bone regeneration and anti-cancer therapies. Dr. Uludağ is actively involved in various biomaterials societies around the World and is an elected Fellow of the International Union of Society of Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUS-BSE). Besides acting as the lead editor for Frontiers in Biomaterials, he is serving on the editorial board of 6 international journals. Dr. Uludağ published >160 peer-reviewed journal articles. Dr. Uludağ obtained dual B.Sc. degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Biology from Brown University (Providence, RI) in 1989, specializing in biomedical engineering with a strong emphasis in biological sciences. He then completed his Ph.D. degree in 1993 at the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry at the University of Toronto, where he developed a strong expertise in polymeric biomaterials. He spent four years in an industrial setting (Genetics Institute Inc.; Boston, MA), where he contributed to development of a tissue engineered bone-inducing BMP device for clinical use.
Research
Cancer Therapy with DNA and RNA. Cancer arises from uncontrolled cell proliferation due to aberrant expression of certain proteins, resulting in loss of control over the cellular physiology. A permanent solution to cancer is to target those proteins with aberrant expression and silence (eradicate) them. The newly discovered silencer RNAs (siRNAs and sgRNAs) can be designed to target any protein at will. Their delivery into the cells, however, is problematic. The highly charged RNAs cannot cross cell membrane and it gets quickly degraded in the body. Our goal is to design 'nano'-engineered vesicles, based on architecturally-controlled polymers, to facilitate cellular uptake of RNAs (picture). We are developing amphiphilic polymers composed of cationic and lipophilic groups, since these features provide an optimal balance between packaging of RNA into nano-vesicles and cellular penetration. Sub-projects in this area include materials chemistry to prepare the biomaterials, pharmaceutical studies to investigate siRNA delivery, and development of anti-cancer models for therapy.
Keywords: Biomaterials, drug delivery, gene therapy, tissue engineering, anti-cancer drugs
Courses
CH E 318 - Mass Transfer
Molecular and turbulent diffusion; mass transfer coefficients; mass transfer equipment design including absorption and cooling towers, adsorption and ion exchange. Prerequisites: CME 265, CH E 312 and 343. Corequisite: CH E 314. Credit may not be obtained in this course if previous credit has been obtained for CH E 418.
CH E 582 - Introduction to Biomaterials
Survey of materials intended for biological applications; biomaterials-related biological phenomena (protein adsorption, blood coagulation and cell adhesion); biomaterials for engineering of blood vessel, bone and skin tissues. Two fundamental engineering philosophies will be stressed: structure-function relationship and purposeful manipulation for a desired outcome. Prerequisite: BIOL 107 or BME 210 or CH E 484 or consent of Instructor.
CH E 655 - Advanced Biomaterials Science
Intended for graduate students who are familiar with basic biomaterials science. Focuses on: molecular design of biomaterial and biomaterial surfaces in order to modulate specific biological events; techniques to modulate biomaterial properties; assessment techniques for modifications. The biological events will be studied at the cellular and molecular level.