UMD Senior Chemistry Major Brandon Ng Awarded Fulbright Scholarship
Brandon Ng, a University of Maryland senior majoring in chemistry and participating in the College Park Scholars Science and Global Change program, has been awarded a 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student Grant to study in Israel.
There, Ng will investigate the use of nanotechnology to treat multiple myeloma. Specifically, he will examine ways to deliver siRNA to multiple myeloma with lipid-based nanoparticles. These drug delivery vehicles will be designed to specifically target multiple myeloma with cell surface molecules, enhancing cell death.
Ng will work with Dan Peer, professor in the Department of Cell Research and Immunology at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with the Davidoff Cancer Center, to test the efficacy of these drug carriers. In addition to his research, Ng plans to coach swimmers with disabilities, building on his Special Olympics coaching experience.
For more than two years, Ng has been a researcher in the laboratory of Jason Kahn, associate professor in the UMD Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, studying protein-DNA complexes, DNA looping and DNA topology.
Last summer, Ng conducted research on synthesizing and characterizing nanoparticles for drug delivery to the kidneys at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York under the direction of Daniel Heller. Ng co-authored a paper on this work that was published in the journal Nano Letters.
After returning from his Fulbright year abroad, Ng intends to pursue a Ph.D. in drug development and delivery. His career goal is to work in the pharmaceutical industry developing cancer therapy drugs.
Media Relations Contact: Abby Robinson, 301-405-5845, abbyr@umd.edu
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The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland educates more than 7,000 future scientific leaders in its undergraduate and graduate programs each year. The college's 10 departments and more than a dozen interdisciplinary research centers foster scientific discovery with annual sponsored research funding exceeding $150 million.
