Ph.D. Candidate Shrey Shah Receives Fellowship in Drug Delivery

Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BIOE) Ph.D. candidate Shrey Shah received a 2024 Predoctoral Fellowship in Drug Delivery from the PhRMA Foundation. The PhRMA Foundation is a nonprofit organization that fosters biopharmaceutical innovation and quality healthcare by investing in emerging research.

Announced in a December 5th press release, the PhRMA Foundation awarded $1.7M in drug discovery and delivery fellowships and grants to 21 early-career scientists. The selection process for PhRMA Foundation fellowships is highly competitive, flagging Shah as a promising researcher in the field.

“Being selected for this fellowship feels incredibly humbling and rewarding,” says Shah. “I am honored to have the support of the PhRMA Foundation and grateful for the support and the journey that led me to this point.”

For his project, “Induction of Immune Tolerance Using Microneedles for Controlled Delivery to Skin,” Shah is awarded $30,000 a year, for up to two years, towards his research on developing micron-sized needles that deliver cargo to specialized immune cells in the dermal skin layers.

“This fellowship and connection to the PhRMA Foundation will be integral in helping me carry out a productive Ph.D., which is a step towards achieving my long-term goal of leading a high-impact immunoengineering lab."

Shrey Shah, Bioengineering Ph.D. Candidate

Shah’s research focuses on the intersection of materials science and immunology. He seeks to understand the intrinsic properties of materials and how materials can be engineered to deliver cues to modulate immune function and improve immunotherapies.

The goals of this project are twofold. Firstly, he is studying the fundamentals of controlled delivery using biomaterials to understand immune mechanisms in the skin. Second, he is developing clinically translatable biomaterial technologies to modulate these underlying immune mechanisms to better vaccines and immunotherapies.

“This fellowship and connection to the PhRMA Foundation will be integral in helping me carry out a productive Ph.D.,” says Shah, “which is a step towards achieving my long-term goal of leading a high-impact immunoengineering lab, focusing on developing novel biomaterial-based drug delivery technologies for applications in immunology.”

Shah was inspired to attend the University of Maryland because of the exceptional research conducted by faculty in BIOE, particularly in the field of biomaterials. He was especially drawn to the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices for its work on translating scientific discoveries into practical solutions that can help people. Shah currently conducts his research in the BIOE Jewell Research Lab, where he has been a Ph.D. student researcher since August 2020 after earning his MSE in nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania. The Jewell Lab, headed by MPower and Minta Martin Professor Christopher Jewell, merges engineering and immunology to help fight disease.

“This prestigious national fellowship is a well deserved recognition of the creativity and enthusiasm Shrey constantly brings to his work,” says Jewell. “I’m very proud of him and excited to see this project grow.”

Published December 11, 2023