Mofizur Rahman is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Kansas. He explores how engineered nanomedicines can navigate the brain’s most challenging defenses. In this Postdoc Portrait interview, he shares the importance of his work and how it bridges fundamental biomedical design with clinical translation.
Engineering Precision Therapeutics
Q | What drew you to nanotechnology?
My fascination with science began during my studies in pharmaceutical sciences, where I became intrigued by how engineered materials could be exploited to address complex biological challenges. During my graduate research, I became obsessed by materials at the nanoscale that could interact with living systems in precise and programmable ways. This curiosity expanded during my PhD at RIKEN in Japan, later Biomedical Science & Engineering at Binghamton University, where I explored nanotechnology-driven strategies for cancer diagnosis and precision therapy. Seeing how nanomedicine design could influence precision molecular targeting and treatment response inspired me to dedicate my career to translational nanomedicine.
What continues to motivate me today is the challenge of bridging molecular engineering with real clinical impact, designing smarter, more adaptive materials that can navigate biological barriers and deliver therapeutic agents exactly where they are needed. For me, science is not just discovery, its purposeful design aimed at improving human health.
Q | What scientific problem are you trying to solve?
My favorite research project has been the development of chimeric nanobody-decorated liposomes for targeted cancer diagnosis and precision therapy, published in Nature Nanotechnology. This work introduced a self-assembly strategy that allows nanobody-liposomes to form in a single step without chemical modification, overcoming long-standing challenges in immunoliposome manufacturing. We engineered a chimeric nanobody (cNB), combining an anti-HER2 domain, a flexible peptide linker, and a single transmembrane anchor, that can spontaneously integrate into lipid membranes. The resulting cNB-liposomes exhibited exceptional drug-loading efficiency, structural stability, and enhanced targeting to HER2-positive breast cancer, leading to markedly improved tumor inhibition and survival in animal models.
What I love about this project is how it bridges fundamental biomedical design with clinical translation, turning nanoscale molecular engineering into a practical therapeutic platform. Seeing a concept evolving from nanobody design and lipid chemistry to real tumor suppression was profoundly inspiring and reinforced my commitment to nanomedicine innovation for precision cancer therapy.
Scientific Milestones and Inspiration
Q | What has been the most exciting part of your scientific journey so far?
It was witnessing years of molecular design and experimental persistence ending in the publication of our work on chimeric nanobody-decorated liposomes in Nature Nanotechnology and antibody-decorated engineered exosomes derived from human cells in Nature Communications. Both projects emerged from a central question—how can we create more efficient and stable nanocarriers for targeted drug delivery? Addressing this challenge required bridging protein engineering, supramolecular chemistry, and nanomedicine to achieve self-assembled nanobody-integrated liposomes and cell-derived exosomes for cancer diagnosis and precision therapy.
What made this achievement deeply meaningful was realizing that our designs not only advanced fundamental understanding but also opened a pathway toward scalable and clinically viable precision nanomedicines. Seeing our engineered nanomedicines effectively suppress tumor growth efficiently and extend survival in animal models reaffirmed my passion for translating elegant molecular concepts into life-saving therapeutic innovations.
Q | Which laboratory instrument would be your alter ego and why?
I would be a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Much like a TEM, I’m fascinated by what lies beneath the surface, by the invisible details that govern how materials behave and interact at the nanoscale. The TEM doesn’t just capture images; it reveals structure, order, and complexity that shape scientific understanding. In my research, being able to visualize the architecture of lipid–polymer vesicles or engineered exosomes at near-atomic resolution often sparks new hypotheses and design strategies.
I also relate to the TEM’s balance between precision and patience, it demands focus, stability, and continuous fine-tuning to bring clarity from noise. In many ways, that’s how I see science itself: a disciplined search for beauty and meaning hidden within complexity. Seeing that structure emerge, whether through a microscope or through an experiment, never stops inspiring me.
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
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