Our research focus lies at the interface of materials science, biology and nanotechnology to develop novel polymeric nanodevices for biological analysis, diagnostics and therapeutics. The ultimate goal of our laboratory is to achieve marriage of biomimetics and nanotechnology. Our work is being conducted in a highly interdisciplinary and collaborative environment that provides opportunities for students with backgrounds and/or interests in chemistry, engineering, biology, medicine and pharmaceutical sciences.

More specifically, we are interested in understanding and controlling biological interactions of polymers with cells at the nano-scale. The fundamental understanding will lead us to more translational cancer research fields including: i) Novel nanocarriers for precisely engineered biological behaviors and improved targeting efficacy, particularly for cancer immunotherapy; and ii) Biomimetic multifunctional devices for effective detection and isolation of circulating rare cells and biomarkers.

Dr. Seungpyo Hong is the Milton J. Henrichs Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Professor of Pharmaceutics in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). He also serves as Associate Editor for Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine of Elsevier. He graduated from Hanyang University in Seoul, Korea with BS and MS degrees in polymer engineering in 1999 and 2001, respectively. After working as a researcher at Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), he started his PhD study at the University of Michigan working with his advisors Profs. Mark Banaszak Holl and James Baker, Jr. Dr. Hong graduated with his PhD in Macromolecular Science and Engineering in 2006 and joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Prof. Robert Langer. From 2008 to 2014, Seungpyo was Assistant Professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where he was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2014, and subsequently joined the UW-Madison faculty as full Professor in 2016. Since 2008, he has led a research group under the major research theme of “Biomimetic Nanotechnology” for cancer diagnosis and treatment. To date, Prof. Hong’s research has culminated in over 120 peer-reviewed articles that have a combined total number of citations ~20,000 times with an h-index of 50, 1 co-edited book, 8 book chapters, and 24 issued or pending patents, while delivering over 200 invited talks worldwide and over 200 conference proceedings. His academic/research achievements have been recognized by the related scientific communities, resulting in him receiving a number of awards including being inducted as AIMBE fellow in 2022, 2012 AAPS New Investigator Award in Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technologies, and 2012 UIC Researcher of the Year - Rising Star Award.

Education:

• 1999    BS in Fiber and Polymer Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, KOREA
• 2001    MS in Polymer Engineering, Hanyang University/Korea Inst. of Sci. and Technol. (KIST), Seoul, KOREA
• 2006    PhD in Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
• 2008    Postdoc, Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 

Experience:

• 1999-2002      Research Assistant, Polymer Hybrids Research Center, KIST, Seoul, KOREA
• 2008-2014      Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
• 2014-2016      Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Education for the College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
• 2015-2018      Associate Professor (w/ Joint appointment), Underwood International College, Yonsei University, Seoul/Incheon, KOREA
• 2015-Present  Co-founder and President, Capio Biosciences, Inc., Madison, WI
• 2016-Present  Associate Editor, Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, Elsevier
• 2016-Present  Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences Division, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
• 2017-Present  Member, Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
• 2018-Present  Director, Wisconsin Center for NanoBioSystems, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Selected Publications (out of over 110 in total)

1. “An Avidity-based PD-L1 Antagonist Using Nanoparticle-Antibody Conjugates for Enhanced Immunotherapy” J. Bu, A. Nair, M. Iida, W.-j. Jeong, M.J. Poellmann, K. Mudd, L.J. Kubiatowicz, E.W. Liu, D.L. Wheeler, and S. Hong*, Nano Letters, 2020, 20(7), 4901-4909.
2. “Surface Engineering for Efficient Capture of Circulating Tumor Cells in Renal Cell Carcinoma: From nanoscale analysis to clinical application” J. Bu, A. Nair, L.J. Kubiatowicz, M.J. Poellmann, W.-j. Jeong, M. Reyes-Martinez, A.J. Armstrong, D.J. George, A.Z. Wang, T. Zhang, and S. Hong*, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2020, 162, 112250
3. “Nanoparticle Conjugation Stabilizes and Multimerizes β-Hairpin Peptides to Effectively Target PD-1/PD-L1 β-Sheet-Rich Interfaces” W.-j. Jeong, J. Bu, Y. Han, A.J. Drelich, A. Nair, P. Kral, and S. Hong*, Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2020, 142(4), 1832-1837.
4. "Integration of Biomimicry and Nanotechnology for Significantly Improved Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells" J.H. Myung, S-j. Park, A.Z. Wang, and S. Hong*, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 2018, 125, 36-47.
5. "Multivalent Binding and Biomimetic Cell Roling Improves the Sensitivity and Specificity of Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Capture" J.H. Myung, M.J. Eblan, J.M. Caster, K. Wang, S.-j. Park, K.A. Tam, S.M. Miller, R.L. Green, R.C. Chen, J.E. Tepper, B.S. Chera, A.Z. Wang*, and S. Hong*, Clinical Cancer Research 2018, 24(11), 2539-2547.
6. “Tuning Selectivity of Dendron Micelles through Variations of the PEG Corona”R.M. Pearson, S. Sen, H.-j. Hsu, M. Pasko, M. Gaske, P. Kral, and S. Hong*, ACS Nano 2016, 10(7), 6905-6914.
7. “Targeted Treatment of FLT3-Overexpressing Acute Myelid Leukoemia with miR-150 Nanoparticles Guided by FLT3 Ligand Peptides” Jiang, J. Bugno, C. Hu, Y. Yang, T. Herold, J. Qi, P. Chen, S. Gurbuxani, S. Arnovitz, B. Ulrich, H. Weng, Y. W. Wang, H. Huang, S. Li, J. Strong, M.B. Neilly, R.A. Larson, M.M. Le Beau, S.K. Bohlander, J. Jin, Z. Li, J.E. Bradner, S. Hong*, and J. Chen*, Cancer Research 2016, 76(15), 4470-4480.
8. “miR-22Plays a Potent Anti-tumor Role with Therapeutic Potential in Acute Myeloid Leukemia” Jiang, C. Hu, S. Arnovitz, J. Bugno, M. Yu, Z. Zuo, P. Chen, H. Huang, B. Ulrich, C. Hu, S. Gurbuxani, H. Weng, J. Strong, Y. Wang, Y. Li, J. Salat, S. Li, A.G. Elkahloun, Y. Yang, M.B. Neilly, R.A. Larson, M.M. Le Beau, T. Herold, S.K. Bohlander, P.P. Liu, J. Zhang, Z. Li, C. He, J. Jin, S. Hong, and J. Chen*, Nature Communications 2016, 7, 11452.
9. “Dendron-based Micelles for Topical Delivery of Endoxifen: A potential chemo-preventive medicine for breast cancer” Y. Yang, R.M. Pearson, O. Lee, R.T. Chatterton, S.A. Khan, and S. Hong*, Advanced Functional Materials 2014, 24(17), 2441-2449.
10. “Prolonged Blood Circulation and Enhanced Tumor Accumulation of Folate-Targeted Dendrimer-Polymer Hybrid Nanoparticles” S. Sunoqrot, J. Bugno, D. Lantvit, J.E. Burdette, and S. Hong*, Journal of Controlled Release 2014, 191, 115-122.
11. “Dendrimer-mediated Multivalent Binding for Enhanced Capture of Tumor Cells” J.H. Myung, K.A. Gajjar, J. Saric, D.T. Eddington, and S. Hong*, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2011, 50(49), 11769-11772.
12. “Dendron-mediated Self-assembly of Highly PEGylated Block Copolymers: A Modular Nanocarrier Platform” J.W. Bae, R.M. Pearson, N. Patra, S. Sunoqrot, L. Vukovi, P. Kral, and S. Hong*, Chemical Communications 2011, 47(37), 10302-10304.
13. “Enhanced Tumor Cell Isolation by a Biomimetic Combination of E-selectin and anti-EpCAM: Implication for Effective Separation of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs)” J.H. Myung, C.A. Launiere, D.T. Eddington, and S. Hong*, Langmuir 2010, 26(11), 8589-8596.
14. “Nanomechanical Control of Cell Rolling in Two Dimensions through Surface Patterning of Receptors” R. Karnik, S. Hong, H. Zhang, Y. Mei, D. Anderson, J.M. Karp, and R. Langer*, Nano Letters, 2008, 8(4), 1153-1158.
15. “Nanocarriers as an Emerging Platform for Cancer Therapy” D. Peer#, J.M. Karp#, S. Hong#, O.C. Farokhzad, R. Margalit, and R. Langer*, Nature Nanotechnology 2007, 2, 751-760, #denotes co-first authors.
16. “The Binding Avidity of A Nanoparticle-Based Multivalent Targeted Drug Delivery Platform” S. Hong, P.R. Leroueil, I.J. Majoros, B.G. Orr, J.R. Baker*, and M.M. Banaszak Holl*, Chemistry & Biology 2007, 14(1), 107-115.
17. “The Interaction of Polycationic Polymers with Supported Lipid Bilayers and Cells: Nanoscale Hole Formation and Enhanced Membrane Permeability” S. Hong, P.R. Leroueil, E.K. Janus, J.L. Peters, M.-M. Kober, M.T. Islam, B.G. Orr, J.R. Baker, and M.M. Banaszak Holl*, Bioconjugate Chemistry 2006, 17(3), 728-734.
18. “The Interaction of Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) Dendrimers with Supported Lipid Bilayers and Cells: Hole Formation and the Relation to Transport” S. Hong, A.U. Bielinska, A. Mecke, B. Keszler, J.L. Beals, X. Shi, L. Balogh, B.G. Orr, J.R. Baker, and M.M. Banaszak Holl*, Bioconjugate Chemistry 2004, 15(4), 774-782.