Samir Mitragotri

Samir Mitragotri (born May 28, 1971) is an Indian American Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, an inventor, an entrepreneur, and a researcher in the fields of drug delivery and biomaterials. He is currently the Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Chair in Systems Biology and Bioengineering and the Founding Director of the UC Santa Barbara Center for BioEngineering. In 2017, Prof. Mitragotri will move to the Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

Prof. Mitragotri has made groundbreaking contributions to the field of drug delivery by advancing fundamental understanding of biological barriers and developing new materials and technologies for drug delivery. Many of his technologies have advanced to human clinical studies and products. Prof. Mitragotri has established a fundamental knowledge platform of transport properties of skin. He also developed mathematical models of skin permeation and analytical tools to study biophysics of skin structure-function relationship. He has pioneered a large number of technologies including low-frequency ultrasound, pulsed microjet injector, high throughput skin experimentation, skin penetrating peptides and ionic liquids for transdermal delivery of proteins, peptides and nucleic acids. Prof. Mitragotri has also developed fundamental understanding of trans-epithelial transport in the intestine. He also developed novel technologies, in particular intestinal patches, for oral delivery of proteins such as insulin and calcitonin. Prof. Mitragotri has designed and synthesized unique bio-inspired nanoparticles of novel physical, chemical and biological properties to understand the fundamental principles of body’s immune barrier. He developed novel particles that mimic red blood cells and platelets as well as hybrid systems that make use of synthetic nanoparticles hitchhiking on natural cells for targeted delivery of drugs.

Mitragotri has published over 210 publications in the area of drug delivery and biomaterials, has given close to 500 invited and contributed presentations worldwide, and is an inventor on over 150 patents/applications. His publications are cited with an h-index of 79. Mitragotri is a co-founder of several companies that are developing products based on his inventions for detection and treatment of various human diseases. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at MIT and B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology. Mitragotri serves on the editorial boards of several journals and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Bioengineering and Translational Medicine.

Mitragotri's national and international awards include:

• Clemson Award, Society for Biomaterials (2017)
• Member, National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (2016)
• Fellow, Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) (2015)
• Fellow, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) (2015)
• Fellow, Controlled Release Society (CRS) (2015)
• Andreas Acrivos Award for Professional Progress, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) (2015)
• Member, National Academy of Engineering (NAE) (2015)
• Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (NAI) (2013)
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2012)
• Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) (2010)
• Controlled Release Society’s Young Scientist Award (2008)
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers Allan P. Colburn award (2005)
• Selection by MIT's Technology Review Magazine as one of the world’s top Innovators Under 35 (1999)

• Editor-in-Chief, Bioengineering and Translational Medicine
• Associate Editor, Journal of Controlled Release
• Editorial Board, European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Samir Mitragotri has co-founded several companies:

• Sontra Medical, Inc. (acquired by Echo Therapeutics)
• fqubed, Inc. (acquired by Nuvo Research)
• Stratagent LifeSciences (acquired by Corium International)
• Seventh Sense Biosystems
• Dx Biosciences
• Entrega
• CTX Technology Inc.
• Liquedon, LLC
• Ionpair Bio Inc.