About

Interests

Biochemistry, medicinal, structural DNA nanotechnology, spectroscopy, nucleic acids, gene delivery

Positions

• Nano Letters Early Career Editorial Board
• ACS Undergraduate Chemistry Club Faculty Advisor
• College of Arts and Sciences CEP Committee

Education

• Postdoc at the US Naval Research Lab & George Mason University, Washington DC
• PhD in Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, Iowa State University (2016)
• BEng in Biotechnology, Delhi College of Engineering (2010)

Honors

• 2026 Shaomeng Wang Faculty Award
• 2025 John S. Diekhoff Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring
• 2025 NSF CAREER Award
• 2024 ACS Biochemistry and Chemical Biology Division Rising Stars
• 2023 Scialog Fellow
• 2021 NIH Pathway to Independence Award

Research Statement

The Mathur Nano Lab develops synthetic DNA nanostructures as programmable platforms for controlling molecular organization, biological delivery, and nanoscale materials assembly. Our work is motivated by a central question: how can the structure, chemistry, and sequence programmability of DNA be used to build functional systems that are difficult to access using conventional top-down or bulk synthetic approaches?

A major focus of the lab is the development of DNA nanoparticles for nucleic acid delivery and gene therapy. We design gene-encoded DNA nanostructures, lipid–DNA hybrid nanoparticles, and chemically modified DNA scaffolds to understand and improve cellular uptake, endosomal escape, cytosolic stability, nuclear access, and gene expression. These studies combine DNA nanotechnology, nucleic acid chemistry, fluorescence microscopy, biochemical assays, and mammalian cell models to identify design rules for therapeutic delivery.

A second research area uses DNA as a precision template for organizing optical and inorganic materials. By positioning chromophores, nanoparticles, and sol–gel precursors with nanometer-scale control, we investigate how DNA-defined geometry, confinement, rigidity, and mesoscale organization influence energy transfer, photophysics, and emergent material properties.

Across these programs, the lab trains students at the interface of chemistry, nanotechnology, biophysics, molecular biology, spectroscopy, and materials science. Our long-term goal is to establish synthetic DNA as a general engineering material for medicine, sensing, photonics, and programmable nanoscale assembly.

Research Areas

Programmable DNA nanoparticles for nucleic acid delivery

We design DNA nanostructures that can package, organize, and deliver nucleic acid payloads to mammalian cells. Current projects focus on gene-encoded DNA nanoparticles, lipid–DNA hybrid nanoparticles, and chemically functionalized scaffolds that improve cellular entry, endosomal escape, cytosolic availability, nuclear import, and gene expression. These platforms allow us to ask how nanoscale architecture and chemical patterning control biological delivery outcomes.

Gene-encoded DNA nanostructures

DNA is both a construction material and a genetic material. We are developing DNA nanoparticles that physically encode protein-expressing sequences while also adopting defined nanoscale architectures. This work merges DNA nanotechnology with gene delivery to understand how scaffold design, folding, intracellular trafficking, and transcriptional accessibility influence expression in cell-free and mammalian systems.

Lipid–DNA hybrid nanoparticles

Lipid nanoparticles have transformed nucleic acid medicine, but conventional LNPs provide limited control over the spatial organization of delivery-active components. We use DNA scaffolds to pattern ionizable lipids and other functional groups with nanoscale precision, allowing us to test how lipid valency, clustering, and geometry affect membrane interaction, endosomal escape, and delivery efficiency.

DNA-templated optical and inorganic materials

We use DNA nanostructures to organize chromophores, nanoparticles, and inorganic precursors with precise nanoscale and mesoscale control. These studies examine how DNA-defined distance, orientation, rigidity, dielectric environment, and hierarchical organization influence photophysical behavior and material properties. This work supports the broader goal of building programmable materials from molecularly precise templates.

Molecular cognition and STEM training

Because DNA nanotechnology is inherently three-dimensional and interdisciplinary, we also develop educational tools that help students visualize and reason about nanoscale structures. This includes immersive and interactive approaches for teaching DNA origami, biomolecular structure, and nanoscale design principles.

Selected Publications

• Ruiz EO, Neyra K, Lopez DM, Chen RW, Paramasamy D, Bizjak Q, Halley PD, Wei Y, Sotomayor M, Poirier MG, Mathur D, Castro CE, Pfeifer WG. In-Situ ssDNA Isolation from dsDNA Sources as a Streamlined Pathway to DNA Origami Assembly and Testing. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Mar 23:2026.03.19.709872. doi: 10.64898/2026.03.19.709872. PMID: 41929115; PMCID: PMC13041984.
• Neyra K, Desai S, Mathur D. Plugging synthetic DNA nanoparticles into the central dogma of life. Chem Commun (Camb). 2024 Dec 19;61(2):220-231. doi: 10.1039/d4cc04648j. PMID: 39611736; PMCID: PMC11606385.
• Galvan AR, Green CM, Hooe SL, Oktay E, Thakur M, Díaz SA, Veneziano R, Medintz IL, Mathur D. Design and Characterization of a Gene-Encoding DNA Nanoparticle in a Cell-Free Transcription-Translation System. ACS Appl Nano Mater. 2024 Jun 14;7(11):12891-12902. doi: 10.1021/acsanm.4c01456. Epub 2024 May 30. PMID: 39830902; PMCID: PMC11741557.
• Everson HR, Neyra K, Scarton DV, Chandrasekhar S, Green CM, Schmidt TL, Medintz IL, Veneziano R, Mathur D. Purification of DNA Nanoparticles Using Photocleavable Biotin Tethers. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2024 May 1;16(17):22334-22343. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c18955. Epub 2024 Apr 18. PMID: 38635042; PMCID: PMC11261745.
• Oktay E, Bush J, Vargas M, Scarton DV, O’Shea B, Hartman A, Green CM, Neyra K, Gomes CM, Medintz IL, Mathur D, Veneziano R. Customized Scaffolds for Direct Assembly of Functionalized DNA Origami. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Jun 14;15(23):27759-27773. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c05690. Epub 2023 Jun 2. PMID: 37267624; PMCID: PMC10273176.

Download / View CV