Gene therapy holds great promise to treat disease, but current delivery systems lack the precision and efficiency needed for safe use. My project develops a modular, in vivo cell-targeting platform by engineering lentiviral vectors with viral fusogens, which enable entry, and nanobodies, which provide specificity. I have used yeast surface display to identify high-affinity nanobodies across multiple murine cell types and conducted an in vivo delivery screen of nanobody-fusogen pairs. These studies revealed novel targeting interactions, offering new insights into delivery system design. Moving forward, I will investigate avidity effects and extend this platform to other delivery vehicles, aiming to enable programmable, cell-specific gene delivery for safer, more effective therapies.

I am participating in SuperUROP to experience the complete research and publication process while bridging my interests in biological engineering and translational medicine. My background in molecular biology and engineering has prepared me to tackle viral vector design, and I am excited to explore the therapeutic potential of my delivery platform.