Louisiana Tech University’s New Frontier’s in Biomedical Research lecture series will host a discussion by Dr. Vijay T. John, the Leo Weil Endowed Professor in Engineering at Tulane University, on January 23 in University Hall on the campus of Louisiana Tech. John’s presentation titled, “Novel Lipid Nanostructures for Drug Delivery,” will take place at 3:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. During his presentation, John will describe how, by exploiting the phenomenon of self-assembly, one is able to use lipids to construct novel drug capsules with interesting and beneficial properties. A highly accomplished and world-renowned expert in the interdisciplinary area of bionanotechnology, John’s research focuses on using the self-assembly of lipids, which are molecules that make up fats, to generate medical delivery mechanisms, including delivery of therapeutics and vaccines. He is a collaborative researcher working with members of the Tulane University Medical School and the National Center for Neutron Research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizons oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, John directed his considerable expertise and creativity on an interdisciplinary project to develop dispersants to be used to mitigate the negative effects of oil spills. “I am thrilled that our students and faculty will have the opportunity to meet, interact with, and listen to Professor John, a world-renowned scholar and researcher,” said Dr. Ramu Ramachandran, executive associate dean for research in Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering and Science. John received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, a master’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and a doctorate in engineering from Columbia University. A faculty member in Tulane University’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, he has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers and his work has been cited nearly 5,000 times by other researchers. The New Frontiers in Biomedical Research series was developed by Dr. Jamie Newman, an assistant professor in Louisiana Tech’s School of Biological Sciences, and is jointly organized by her and Dr. Mary Caldorera-Moore, assistant professor of biomedical engineering. The series, which has brought many internationally known research leaders to Louisiana Tech, is now in its fourth year and is supported by the Lincoln Health Foundation, various Louisiana Tech departments and programs, the Office of the President, and Sigma Xi. The series focuses on biomedical research with the intent of demonstrating the broad and interdisciplinary nature of this field of research. All 2016-2017 New Frontiers in Biomedical Research seminars are free and open to the public. Seminars begin at 3:30 p.m. at University Hall on the Louisiana Tech campus and are recorded for future viewing. For more information on the series, a schedule of speakers, and to view recordings of the seminars, visit the New Frontiers in Biomedical Research website at http://biomedicalresearch.wix.com/new-frontiers or contact Dr. Jamie Newman at jjnewman@latech.edu.