Dr Owen Harrison is a translational nanomedicine researcher specialising in targeted drug delivery and physiological barrier modulation, with a PhD in ultrasound-mediated blood-brain-barrier opening for the treatment of glioblastoma and breast cancer brain metastases. Currently, he is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Prof. Maya Thanou’s group, working toward the development of extracellular vesicle hybrids for delivery of nucleic acid therapies to the gut.

Before joining the Thanou Lab, Owen was a Research Assistant in the Streit Lab (King’s College London), where he provied logistical, technical and research support toward projects investigating the role of epigenetic mechanisms of sensorineural hearing loss. Prior to this, Owen completed an MSc in Regenerative Medicine: Clinical & Industrial Delivery in 2017 (University of Edinburgh, UK), with a placement project in the Kunath Lab investigating mechanisms of neurodegeneration within a G51D alpha-synuclein rat model of Parkinson’s disease.

Owen is also an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, co-chair of The London Stem Cell Network (a 1700+ member NGO supporting the London stem cell community), and a member of the organising committee for the UK Stem Cell Network (a national initiative aimed at unifying stem cell scientists across the country).

Owen’s research has been published in a variety of interdisciplinary journals, including Sensing and Bio-Sensing Research, Frontiers in Acoustics, and IEEE.  With expertise spanning nanoparticle technology, preclinical models, molecular biology, and 3D design/printing, Owen seeks to continue to leverage his skills toward translational research and disruptive technologies within the biomedical space.