Bionano Therapeutics Lab

Welcome to the Bionano Therapeutics Lab at Louisiana State University

The research of the Bionano Therapeutics Lab aims at resolving challenging health problems associated with the central nervous system. Together with our collaborators, we integrate our specialty in biomedical engineering, chemistry, and neuroscience to investigate disease mechanisms and develop novel therapeutic strategies for cancers and neurological disorders. Our ultimate goal is to translate the preclinical results and technological inventions into more effective treatments for all individuals affected by these diseases. 

Group News

• 8/21/2026 As summer comes to a close, we are pleased to highlight several accomplishments: (1) Daniel Alday presented his research at the 2026 LCRC Cancer Research Symposium, sharing our ongoing work with the cancer research community. Daniel also successfully passed his Ph.D. qualifying examination. Congratulations, Daniel, on this important milestone! (2) Salona Roy received an LSU travel award to attend and present her research at the 2026 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Barriers of the CNS. Her latest research paper is also now available as a preprint on bioRxiv, providing early access to our work on electrical modulation of the blood–brain barrier. (3) Dr. Cai chaired and presented the lab’s research at the 23rd Annual Neurotech Congress and TI-BMES Biomedical Engineering Monthly Symposium. Thank you, everyone, for the hard work and contributions throughout the summer. We look forward to building on this progress in the coming academic year.

• 3/27/2026 Enson successfully defended his honors thesis. Congratulations! Rayanne will attend the SUMMIT Program at LSUHS this summer. Great job!

• 1/16/2026 We are excited to start the new year by sharing some good news. Aseel will be joining Baylor’s College of Medicine Orthotics and Prosthetics program class of 2028! Congratulations! Camden joined as a PhD student. Welcome!

• 12/23/2025 We’re excited to share a few pieces of wonderful news from the lab as we conclude the semester. (1) Congratulations to Salona on the acceptance of her paper in the International Journal of Nanomedicine! (2) Dr. Cai presented at the LSUHSC Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence (ADACE) Scientific Retreat as an invited speaker. (3) We’re happy to welcome Ethan to the group as a new undergraduate researcher. (4) We also welcomed the youngest (and tiniest) member, baby Eric! Eric has already “attended” BE1252 (Spring 2025) and BE4910 (Fall 2025) with Dr. Cai, setting an impressive record for early exposure to biomedical engineering. We look forward to what’s ahead and wish everyone a restful and well-deserved break.

• 08/08/2025 Congratulations, Salona, on passing the qualifying exam! Great job!

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Recent Publication

5. S. Roy, D. Alday, Q. Cai. Advances in PLGA-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Glioblastoma Treatment. International Journal of Nanomedicine, 2025:20 16125–16147.

4. T. W. Leong, Z. Gao, E. T. David, X. Li, Q. Cai, J. M. Mwirigi, T. Zhang, M. Giannotta, E. Dejana, J. Wiggins, S. Krishnagiri, R. M. Bachoo, X. Ge, T. J. Price, Z. Qin. Spatially Precise and Minimally Invasive Delivery of Peptides to the Spinal Cord for Behavior Modulation. ACS Nano, 2024, 18(51), 34720-34729.

3. H. Xiong, B. A. Wilson, X. Ge, X. Gao, Q. Cai, X. Xu, R. Bachoo, Z, Qin. Glioblastoma margin as a diffusion barrier revealed by photoactivation of plasmonic nanovesicles. Nano Letters, 2024, 24, 5, 1570–1578. 

2. Q. Cai#, H. Fan, X. Li, M. Giannotta, R. Bachoo, Z. Qin#. Optical modulation of the blood-brain barrier for glioblastoma treatment. Bio-protocol, 2024, 14(2): e4920. (#co-corresponding author)

1. X. Ge, X.Xu, Q. Cai, H. Xiong, C. Xie, Y. Hong, X. Gao, Y. Yao, R. Bachoo, Z. Qin. Live mapping of the brain extracellular matrix and remodeling in neurological disorders. Small Methods, 2023, 2301117. 

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