Guojun Chen, PhD, arrived at McGill to take up his new post in January 2021 — in the middle of the pandemic. He quarantined in a hotel for two weeks, then set up his lab, and began work as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and a member of the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute.
“It was a crazy time, but also a very valuable experience,” he recalls, crediting the collaborative nature of McGill’s research community for helping him make the transition.
Prof. Chen had accepted the offer to join McGill’s Biomedical Engineering Department — the first of its kind in Canada — because of its location within the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. “This really gives me the opportunity to collaborate with biologists and clinicians and do translational work with direct impact,” he says. He also notes that he benefits from the equipment, infrastructure, and support available at McGill’s renowned Goodman Cancer Institute and Biomedical Engineering Department.
An expert in nano-engineering, Prof. Chen explores efficient and safe nano-systems for the delivery of RNA therapeutics. His research focuses on developing devices and biomaterials to tackle diseases such as cancer, diabetes and genetic disorders. “For example, I’m interested in engineering ‘intelligent’ or ‘smart’ delivery systems that can safely, efficiently and precisely transport drugs to disease sites, and then release drugs exactly as needed,” he says. “Can we engineer a better nanoplatform to achieve a better therapeutic efficacy?”
In March 2021, Chen was invited to join the McGill Regenerative Medicine Network and in July 2021, the McGill Institute of Advanced Materials. He has now joined the newly launched Centre for RNA Sciences, which fosters excellence in interdisciplinary RNA sciences at McGill and partner institutions. “This Centre brings together expertise in various disciplines so we can work together to realize RNA therapeutics,” notes Prof. Chen.
Collaborating with biologists and clinicians will help him engineer more targeted nano-platforms for specific diseases. “It’s not ‘one size fits all’,” explains Prof. Chen, noting individuals with the same disease can respond very differently to the same drugs. His lab strives to understand and exploit the interactions of biomaterials and biological systems for therapeutic applications, ultimately contributing to the advancement of precision, or personalized, medicine.
Prof. Chen’s educational background reflects the multidisciplinary approach of the Centre for RNA Sciences. He received his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from Nankai University in 2012, and then a PhD in materials science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017. He completed postdoctoral work in bioengineering at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2020.
“Everything is so connected nowadays,” says Prof. Chen, noting that his research team works in a multidisciplinary environment that bridges engineering with materials science, chemistry, biology, and health sciences.
Chen’s research is funded by a five-year NSERC Discovery Grant and NSERC Discovery Launch Supplement for Early Career, as well as a McGill NSERC General Research Grant. In April 2022, his lab received funding from the NOVA FRQNT-NSERC Program, collaborating with Dr. Maryam Tabrizian of McGill and Dr. Jim Hu of the University of Toronto to develop next generation bio-responsive nano-formulations for genome editing.
Other funding has included a Canadian Cancer Society Challenge Grant, funds from the CIHR Institute of Cancer Research, and infrastructure support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund.
Prof. Chen serves as an editorial board member for Biomaterials and is associate editor for Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. In March 2022, he received the Chinese Association for Biomaterials Young Investigator Award, and in June 2022 he was honoured with the Fonds de recherche du Québec–Santé (FRQS) Career Award (Junior 1).
He notes that while RNA therapeutics have obvious potential for vaccines, the technology was being developed long before the COVID-19 pandemic. “mRNA technology actually started with clinical trials for cancer and infectious diseases,” says Prof. Chen. “That’s why McGill is the perfect place to boost the translational work of RNA therapeutics. This Centre gives us the opportunity to work together to achieve real impact.”
Read more about the Chen Lab at McGill University.