Rosalind and Morris
Goodman Cancer
Institute Principal
Investigators
Prof. Chen’s lab focuses on:
- Design non-viral delivery systems to achieve precise and efficient gene delivery for disease treatment.
- Develop strategies for cold atmospheric plasma (CAP)-mediated cancer immunotherapy, and discover the underlying fundamental knowledge of CAP on immune systems.
- Design and leverage biomaterials to reprogram favorable immune functions for treating diseases, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, and transplant rejection.
Prof. Chen’s research goals include engineering intelligent biomaterials for drug delivery, towards precision medicine. His group is also interested in understanding and exploiting the interactions between biomaterials and biological systems for therapeutic applications. Their research is being conducted in a multidisciplinary and collaborative environment, bridging engineering with materials science, chemistry, biology, and health sciences.
What we are
currently
working on
Our laboratory focuses on engineering intelligent biomaterials for drug delivery, with the ultimate goal towards precision medicine. We are also interested in understanding and exploiting the interactions between biomaterials and biological systems for therapeutic applications. Our research is being conducted in a multidisciplinary and collaborative environment, bridging engineering with materials science, chemistry, biology, and health sciences. Specific research directions are:
- Immunothérapie basée sur les biomatériaux La modulation du système immunitaire par les biomatériaux a émergé comme une solution prometteuse pour traiter les maladies liées aux dysfonctionnements immunitaires. Nous nous concentrons sur la conception et l'utilisation de biomatériaux pour reprogrammer des fonctions immunitaires favorables pour le traitement de maladies, y compris le cancer, les maladies auto-immunes et le rejet de greffe.
Biomaterials-based immunotherapy Biomaterials-mediated modulation of immune systems has emerged as a promising solution for treating immune-dysfunction-related diseases. We focus on design and leverage biomaterials to reprogram favorable immune functions for treating diseases, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, and transplant rejection.
- Immunothérapie du cancer médiée par le plasma froid atmosphérique Le plasma froid atmosphérique (« cold atmospheric plasma » – CAP), un gaz ionisé composé d'espèces chargées, de radicaux et de photons, est généré à pression atmosphérique et /température ambiante et a démontré un grand potentiel pour de nombreuses applications biomédicales, y compris pour le traitement du cancer. Notre recherche en lien avec ce sujet se concentrera sur le développement de stratégies pour du CAP et sur la synergie entre la thérapie par le CAP et l'immunothérapie du cancer. Nous découvrirons également les connaissances fondamentales sous-jacentes du CAP sur les systèmes immunitaires. Cold atmospheric plasma-mediated cancer immunotherapy Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), an ionized gas composed of charged species, radicals, and photons, generates at atmospheric pressure/room temperature and has demonstrated great promise for many biomedical applications, including cancer treatment. Our research in this line will focus on developing strategies for CAP delivery and synergizing CAP therapy with cancer immunotherapy. We will also discover the underlying fundamental knowledge of CAP on immune systems.
- Édition non virale du génome L'édition du génome offre des solutions prometteuses pour traiter des maladies génétiques autrement incurables en corrigeant les séquences d'ADN ou en régulant l'expression des gènes. Cependant, la livraison de machineries d'édition de génome actives, telles que les composantes CRISPR/Cas, dans les cellules ou tissus cibles in vivo reste un défi. Nous visons à concevoir des systèmes de livraison pour réaliser une édition du génome précise et efficace pour le traitement de maladies. Non-viral genome editing Genome editing offers promising solutions to treat otherwise incurable genetic disorders by correcting DNA sequences or regulating gene expression. However, the delivery of active genome-editing machineries, such as CRISPR/Cas components, into target cells/tissues in vivo remains a challenge. We aim to design delivery systems to achieve precise and efficient genome editing for disease treatment.
- Assistant Professor (2021-present)
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University - Member (2021-present)
Rosalind & Morris Goodman Cancer Institute
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University
- FRQS Chercheurs-boursiers Junior 1 award (2022-2026)
- Young Investigator award, Chinese Association for Biomaterials (CAB), 2022
- Editorial Board member for Biomaterials, 2022-present
- Associate Editor for Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2022-present
Our team
Xiaona Cao Candidat.e postdoctoral.e Postdoctoral Fellow 
Mo Chen Étudiant.e de premier cycle gradué.e Graduate Research Trainee 
Guojun Chen Chercheurs principaux PI 
Yueyang Deng Candidat.e postdoctoral.e Postdoctoral Fellow 
Qiujie Fang Étudiant.e au doctorat PhD Student 
Tianxu Fang Étudiant.e au doctorat PhD Student 
Jesse Lee Étudiant.e de premier cycle Undergraduate Student 
Swetha Magesh Étudiant.e à la maîtrise MSc Student 
Tianqin Ning Étudiant.e à la maîtrise MSc Student (co-supervised with Prof. Jianyu Li) 
Shuai Shi Chercheur.se invité.e Visiting Scholar - Xinying Wang Étudiant.e de premier cycle Undergraduate Student
Li Wang Étudiant.e de premier cycle gradué.e Graduate Research Trainee 
Linxuan Zhao Étudiant.e de premier cycle gradué.e Graduate Research Trainee
Major discoveries
- 2023 Injectable cold atmospheric plasma-activated immunotherapeutic hydrogel for enhanced cancer treatment.
- 2021 Portable air-fed cold atmospheric plasma device for post-surgical cancer treatment.
- 2020 Transdermal Cold Atmospheric Plasma-Mediated Immune Checkpoint Blockade Therapy.
- 2019 A Biodegradable Nanocapsule Delivers A Cas9 Ribonucleoprotein Complex for In Vivo Genome Editing.
Research Partners
Get in touch
3655 Promenade Sir William Osler
Montreal, Quebec H3G 1Y6
Office: Room 712A
Lab: Room 712
T. 514-398-1535
T. 514-398-1502
F.
guojun.chen@mcgill.ca
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