Research Area 2: Developing mucus penetrating nanoparticles for vaginal delivery of immunotherapy to treat uterine cancer

Uterine corpus cancer is the most common invasive gynecologic cancer among U.S. women and is associated with extreme disparities.

I hypothesize that delivering anti-PD-1 (a checkpoint inhibitor) vaginally will result in higher bioavailability in the uterus, leading to improved efficacy and decreased off-target side effects.

To deliver this therapeutic vaginally, a delivery platform is needed that will

• (i) control release of PD-1 at therapeutically relevant rates;

• (ii) protect PD-1 from degradation in the pH environment of the vagina;

• (iii) bypass the mucus barrier