Kathryn Whitehead

Whitehead is from Allentown, Pennsylvania.[6] She earned her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at the University of Delaware,[6] then moved to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she studied methods to improve the oral delivery of macromolecules.[7] Whitehead was a postdoctoral researcher at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, where she worked alongside Robert S. Langer on RNA interference therapeutics.[8]

Whitehead's research considers the development of drug delivery systems for gene therapy.[9] She is interested in the development of nanoparticle materials to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) to specific cells.[10] Targeted mRNA delivery provides physicians with a personalized strategy to treat genetic disorders.[11] Alongside mRNA, Whitehead has studied small interfering RNA, which can be used to control gene expression.[12] In general, mRNA promotes gene expression, whilst siRNA is used to silence over-expressed genes.[13] She focuses on the development of delivery systems for leukocytes (including B cells) and intestinal epithelium.[6][14] A challenge with using mRNA for therapeutic purposes is that the body often recognizes intruder mRNA and attacks it, triggering an immune response.[13] She worked with Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman on the development of the lipid nanoparticles that enabled the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines.[15][16]

In an attempt to better design drug delivery systems, Whitehead has investigated the cellular components of breast milk.[17][18] She is interested in whether it is possible to genetically engineer cells to treat children's allergies, or orally administer vaccines to infants.[17]

Whitehead is passionate about science communication and improving public trust in science.[19] In 202, she delivered a TED talk on lipid nanoparticles and how mRNA will transform biology.[20] In 2022, Whitehead delivered the convocation address at the Carnegie Mellon University.[21]

• Elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering[22][23]
• DARPA Young Faculty Award[11]
• Popular Science Brilliant Ten[24]
• MIT Technology Review Innovator Under 35[12]
• American Society for Engineering Education Curtis W. McGraw Research Award[25]

• Kathryn A Whitehead; Robert Langer; Daniel G Anderson (1 February 2009). "Knocking down barriers: advances in siRNA delivery". Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. 8 (2): 129–138. doi:10.1038/NRD2742. ISSN 1474-1776. PMC 7097568. PMID 19180106. Wikidata Q37380671.
• Kathryn A Whitehead; J Robert Dorkin; Arturo J Vegas; et al. (27 June 2014). "Degradable lipid nanoparticles with predictable in vivo siRNA delivery activity". Nature Communications. 5: 4277. Bibcode:2014NatCo...5.4277W. doi:10.1038/NCOMMS5277. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 4111939. PMID 24969323. Wikidata Q33954008.
• Khalid A. Hajj; Kathryn A. Whitehead (12 September 2017). "Tools for translation: non-viral materials for therapeutic mRNA delivery". Nature Reviews Materials. 2 (10): 17056. doi:10.1038/NATREVMATS.2017.56. ISSN 2058-8437. Wikidata Q56057560.