Dr. Hayat Onyuksel is a Professor of Biopharmaceautical Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy. One of the main focuses of her laboratory has been the development of targeted anticancer nanomedicines. More specifically, targeted treatment of breast cancer, overcoming drug resistance by drug delivery through VIP receptors, targeting and killing breast cancer stem cells, and targeted imaging of breast cancer.
Dr. Onyuksel’s laboratory has been studying lipid-based drug delivery systems as liposomes, micelles and mixed micelles for almost three decades. They have used these carriers to deliver water-insoluble drugs and peptide molecules to solubilize, stabilize and target them to the sites of action.
Her research has been extensively supported by federal, state and industry funds. In 2008, AAPS honored her as the Lipid Based Drug Delivery Outstanding Researcher of the year which is an international award given annually to one scientist only.
Dr. Onyuksel’s expertise in the area of drug delivery is undeniably beneficial because without the right formulation and delivery, the discovered new targets and molecules cannot be useful to treat malignancies in the clinics.