NARILIS lunch seminar | Dr. Aurélien vander Straeten

We are pleased to invite you to a seminar given by

Dr. Aurélien vander Straeten

Aurélien Vander Straeten is a bioengineer working at the intersection of biotechnology and materials science. During his PhD, he developed a novel method to immobilize biologically active proteins on surfaces, demonstrating applications in heterogeneous biocatalysis and wound healing. His doctoral work, completed in 2019, was recognized with the IMCN Best Thesis Award.

He then joined the Langer Lab at MIT, where he led a BARDA-funded project to develop a microneedle patch (MNP) printer for vaccines. This work, later published in Nature Biotechnology, focused on developing MNP compositions and fabrication methods capable of delivering lipid nanoparticle–loaded mRNA vaccines into the skin. During his postdoctoral stay, Aurélien also contributed to research on self-boosting vaccine technologies and on food fortification using thermostable microparticles.

After completing his postdoctoral work, Aurélien transitioned to industry and joined Quantoom Bioscience in Belgium. There, he secured funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to build a team dedicated to developing new lipid nanoparticles for mRNA delivery as well as novel production methods. This effort led to two patent applications on new lipid compositions for RNA vaccines, one patent on innovative fabrication methods, and a co-authored publication with the University of Kansas. Since 2021, Aurélien has also been teaching Analytical Chemistry and Colloids and Interface Science at UCLouvain as an invited professor.   

His seminar is entitled:

"Intradermal delivery of RNA vaccines using microneedle patch arrays" 

Intradermal delivery of RNA vaccines has the potential to improve their performance. However, this route of administration requires trained healthcare personnel and extremely high drug product concentration, which makes it difficult to deliver sensitive payloads such as RNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles. In this talk, we will present how microneedle patch arrays can be used effectively to that end, while generating no sharp waste and improving thermostability. We will also dive into the world of non-viral RNA delivery and its complex intellectual property and technological landscape. 

Invited by Prof. Thomas Balligand, UNamur, URPhyM