ESP Biography

Brief Biographical Sketch:

The Ruth Porat and Anthony Paduano Graduate Fellowship (2013-2014)

The Susan and Richard Zare Graduate Fellowship (2014-2015)

The Winston Chen Stanford Graduate Fellowship (2015-present)

Devleena Samanta is a 4th year Ph.D. student in the Department of Chemistry. Originally from India, she completed her Masters at Virginia Commonwealth University and her Bachelor of Science at St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, affiliated to Calcutta University. Her research is in the area of nanoscience and nanotechnology, with a focus on nanomedicine and human health.

Devleena works on devising drug delivery systems that can be controlled by different stimuli. She has designed a new nano-system that can release drugs due to the inherent pH change in the body. The idea is to encapsulate a drug, such as an anti-cancer drug, within a nanoparticle that can slowly release the drug locally at the site of interest, thereby reducing side effects. Realization of such a sustained drug delivery system would enable facile and non-invasive administration of drugs, and hopefully aid in the treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer.

Currently, Devleena is developing an electric-stimuli responsive drug delivery system, that can release the drug incorporated when a weak voltage or current is applied. She is interested to build a programmable system in which the drug release can be triggered wirelessly and the dosage may be adjusted based on patient response. This type of a system is promising for treatment of long-lasting conditions such as diabetes, osteoporosis, chronic pain and other neurological disorders which require controlled, localized, and repetitive drug release.

Past Classes