Wilson Meng, PhD

The Meng lab focuses on design and characterization of inspired drug delivery systems for the purpose of modulating immune functions.  The group pursues projects that bridge gaps between preclinical and clinical stages in drug development, focusing on enhancing drug bioavailability in target tissues while reducing systemic toxicities.  The strategic goals are to repurpose approved biologics for locoregional treatments of transplant rejection, type I diabetes, and solid tumors. Current research themes include:  Design and characterize peptide bioaffinity hydrogels for delivering immunomodulatory antibodies and Fc fusion proteins; synthesis and optimization of surface-functionalized microparticles for formulating recombinant therapeutic proteins, nucleic acids, and BCS Class II small molecule drugs; and, develop and apply unique bioinformatics approaches to predict T cell epitopes. View a list of Dr. Meng’s publications here. Dr. Meng graduated from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and practiced pharmacy in Maryland and California.  He received his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Southern California.  After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the UCLA School of Medicine, he joined Duquesne University, where he is currently Professor of Pharmaceutics.  He was a visiting scientist at the Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center at Carnegie Mellon University.  He has served as grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense.  He is an associate editor for the Journal of Pharmaceutical Innovation (Springer/Nature) and has served as guest editor for Clinical Immunology (Elsevier).