Spring/Summer 2011 - Purdue College of Pharmacy - Purdue ...

FACULT Y SPOTLIGHT
Yoon Yeo
Assistant Professor,
Industrial and Physical Pharmacy
Assistant Professor (by courtesy),
Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Yoon Yeo received her BS
in Pharmacy and MS in Microbial
Chemistry from the Seoul National
University in Korea. She worked as
a research scientist at Samyang
Corporation in Korea before beginning
her doctoral studies in 1999 at
Purdue University. She earned her
PhD in Pharmaceutics in 2003 and
completed a post-doctoral associate
position in chemical engineering at
the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in Cambridge before
returning to Purdue in 2007. She is
currently Assistant Professor of
Industrial and Physical Pharmacy
with a joint appointment as Assistant
Professor at the Weldon School of
Biomedical Engineering.
Dr. Yeo’s research is focused on
developing new drug delivery systems
and biomaterials. Instead of creating
new drug entities, she tries to use
biologically inactive (or less active)
ingredients to make drugs behave better
(i.e., go where they are supposed to go
and act in the way they are supposed
to act). Specifically, she is interested in
utilizing particulate dosage forms to
deliver drugs in a target-specific
manner, such as tumors or genetically
defective lung epithelium.
When not in the lab, Dr. Yeo enjoys
watching international movies and
learning about their cultures and
histories. “I had many international
friends when I was in graduate school,
and I used to watch movies with them.
I try the same with my students, who
are from different parts of the world
and happen to be great cooks (unlike
me). Last time, we watched an Indian
comedy, 3 idiots. It was a lot of fun,
and the food left over fed me the
next three days!”
What first drew you to/interested
you in your research?
My project as a research scientist at
Samyang Co. was to develop microparticles
releasing a protein drug for an
extended period. It was my first practical
exposure to the field of controlled drug
delivery. I was excited to learn how new
drug delivery systems could change the
fates of drug molecules, which would
otherwise be inconvenient to administer
and/or much less effective.
What is it that interests you
most about your research?
Drug delivery research often means a
battle with biological environment that
interferes with the intended functions
of drug carriers. A number of new drug
delivery systems, which are designed
with brilliant features, fail when they do
not adequately address the biological
obstacles. I am excited about discovering
a new challenge, coming up with a new
way to overcome such a challenge, and
observing the difference our approach
can make.
What do you hope to discover
through your research?
I want to find a way to help patients in
a way that has not been possible due
to the lack of proper delivery systems.
For example, we work on developing
new inhalable medicine for cystic fibrosis
patients who suffer critically from
obstructive lung diseases. There is no
easy way to overcome the tenacious
phlegm layer accumulating in the
airways and deliver medicines to the
underlying tissues, so we look for
various ways to combat this phlegm
barrier. Another research goal is to
find a new way of treating tumors with
metastatic potential—a true killer of
cancer patients. The success of this
research depends on how we make
use of specific biological and chemical
markers that distinguish the tumor
cells from the innocent bystanders.
What are you currently
working on in your lab?
We are developing inhalable gene
carriers for cystic fibrosis patients
and polymeric nanoparticles for
target-specific chemotherapy. For the
former, we utilize an osmotic agent as
a carrier in anticipation that mobilizing
water in the phlegm with the osmotic
32 The Purdue Pharmacist