Welcome to

The MEI Lab

Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics

A Molecular Pharmaceutics Lab

We Develop Drug & Gene Delivery Systems for Novel Immunotherapies

mRNA-LNPs (Photo Credit: the MEI Lab)

ImmunoEngineering

We specialize in engineering lipid-based nanoscale therapeutic carriers, such as liposomes & lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). We utilize LNPs as our therapeutic toolboxes to deliver RNA/DNA, modulating immune responses and achieving therapeutic benefits in various applications.

Our primary disease of interest includes:

  • Immunogenicity-control for AAV Gene Therapy

  • Immunogenic mRNA Cancer Vaccines
    (Colon, Melanoma, Breast Cancer)

  • Tolerogenic mRNA Vaccine Development

  • CAR-based Immuno-Cell Therapy

LNPs

MEI Lab-modified Cy5-eGFP-mRNA-LNPs in dendritic cells showing endosomal escape (Cy5-mRNA in megenta) from lysosomes (red/yellow), leading to highly efficient protein translation from mRNA encoding green fluorescent proteins (eGFP/green)
(Photo Credit: the MEI Lab | U.S. Patent Application No. 63/745,773, 2025)

We synthesize lipids and formulate mRNA-LNPs, studying their intracellular trafficking and downstream biological effects to develop precision RNA therapeutics.

Looking for PhD & Postdoc Training in Molecular Pharmaceutics or Biological Chemistry?

Join Us

at the University of Utah, SLC

A great place to study, work, and live

Why Utah?

US Top 10 by
NIH Research Funding

College of Pharmacy

State-of-theArt Research Infrastructure

World Class Medical Research Center

U of U Medical Campus

in Salt Lake City

Research Funding