PhD Spotlight: Shicheng Yang, PhD’24, Chemical Engineering
Shicheng Yang, PhD’24, chemical engineering, focused research on innovative drug delivery systems, including polymeric implants and lipid nanoparticles, for cancer treatment. He was named an inventor on “Processes for Nanoformulation of Molecular Inhibitors and Chemotherapeutics.”
After receiving a master’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences from Northeastern in 2018, Shicheng Yang began pursuing a PhD in chemical engineering and a graduate certificate in nanomedicine. His faculty advisors were Srinivas Sridhar, University Distinguished Professor of Physics, and Eno Ebong, associate professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering. His research focuses on innovative drug delivery systems, including polymeric implants and lipid nanoparticles, for cancer treatment. These formulations are designed to improve drug pharmacokinetics, overcome the emergence of drug resistance, and minimize drug toxicity.
Yang contributed to six peer-reviewed journal articles, serving as lead author on five. To date, four are published. He delivered three oral presentations and 13 poster presentations at conferences and research expos. Yang also participated in several cross-disciplinary collaborations with several health care organizations, including The University of Texas Health Science Center, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
In 2024, Yang was named an inventor on “Processes for Nanoformulation of Molecular Inhibitors and Chemotherapeutics,” work that has been filed as a disclosure with Northeastern’s Center for Research Innovation.
Yang served as a mentor to 16 students at CaNCURE, a program funded by the National Cancer Institute. His students produced or contributed to research papers, abstracts, and posters. Of that group, 10 are now pursuing PhD or MD programs, and six are employed at major pharmaceutical companies.
He completed a one-year internship at Theranano, a company that focuses on nanoparticles and depot technologies that was founded by his advisor, Srinivas Sridhar. Yang refined a hot-melt extrusion method for implant fabrication, transitioning the technique from laboratory scale to GMP-compliant production processes. The fabricated implants are being tested in large animal models at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, as the next step towards clinical translation.
In 2024, Yang was inducted into Northeastern’s Lux. Veritas. Virtus. society of distinction. After graduation, Yang is continuing his research at Theranano.