Q&A with Shrey Shah: Developing Microneedles to Treat Autoimmune Diseases
May 6, 2024PhRMA Foundation award recipient Shrey Shah, a graduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park, seeks to leverage the resilient properties of skin to deliver treatments for autoimmune diseases using microneedles.
About 1 in 5 Americans are living with an autoimmune disease in which their immune system mistakenly attacks their own tissues and organs. About 75% of those affected are women. Currently, these diseases have no cures, but their symptoms can be managed with treatments.
Shrey Shah, MS, a graduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park, received a 2024 PhRMA Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship in Drug Delivery for his research seeking to leverage the resilient properties of our skin to deliver treatments for autoimmune diseases.
As a biochemical engineer, Shah is developing microneedles made from gelatin that can be applied like a Band-Aid to deliver treatments. “Overall, what we’re trying to do is to make a treatment which is more accessible, more sustainable, and also helps treat a disease which does not have a cure yet,” he said.
Watch this video to learn about Shah and his research.
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