Rachael W. Sirianni, PhD

Principal Investigator, Nanomedicine Laboratory

Rachael Sirianni, PhD, earned her undergraduate degree in Bioengineering at Arizona State University in 2003, and her doctorate in Biomedical Engineering at Yale University in 2008. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Diagnostic Radiology at the Yale School of Medicine in 2011 and joined the Barrow Brain Tumor Research Center as an independent investigator.

Dr. Sirianni has an interdisciplinary background and has published journal articles in the fields of polymeric drug delivery, neurobiology, and imaging. She was the recipient of several competitive awards, including a predoctoral NIH training grant (2006-2008), a postdoctoral NIH training fellowship (2008-2011), multiple travel awards to national and international conferences, and a first place presenter’s award from the Society for Nuclear Medicine (2010). Dr. Sirianni also has extensive teaching experience, having assisted in curriculum design and classroom instruction for 10 undergraduate and graduate level classes.

Dr. Sirianni is a visiting assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine and a member of the graduate faculty at Arizona State University. The goal of Dr. Sirianni’s laboratory is to use engineering methods to develop drug carriers that will deliver drugs directly to brain tumors while sparing healthy tissue. Her primary focus is on research that has the potential for direct clinical application at Barrow.

 

Education, Training, and Previous Positions

• 2011-present: Assistant Professor, Barrow Brain Tumor Research Center, Phoenix
• 2011-present: Faculty Member, Arizona State University, Harrington Department of Bioengineering
• 2011-present: Visiting Assistant Professor, Yale School of Medicine, Diagnostic Radiology
• 2008-2011: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Yale School of Medicine, Diagnostic Radiology
• 2008: PhD, Yale University, Biomedical Engineering
• 2006: MS and MPH, Yale University, Biomedical Engineering
• 2004-2008: Graduate student, Yale University, Biomedical Engineering
• 2003: BSE, Arizona State University, Bioengineering
• 2002-2004: Undergraduate and Graduate Researcher, Arizona State University, Bioengineering

Selected Honors and Awards

• 2008-2011: Postdoctoral Fellowship NIH Training Grant, Yale School of Medicine
• 2011: Travel Award BrainPET 2011 Conference
• 2010: First Place Abstract, Society for Nuclear Medicine
• 2010: Travel Award, Molecular Neuroimaging Symposium
• 2010: Travel Award, NIGMS Career Workshop
• 2006-2008: Predoctoral Fellowship, NIH Training Grant, Yale University
• 2002, 2003: Merit Award, Bioengineering, Arizona State University
• 1998-2003: Undergraduate Scholarship, E. Blois du Bois Foundation Award
• 1998-2002: Undergraduate Scholarship, Regents Merit Awards, Arizona State University
• 1997: Johns Hopkins Young Talent Search Award, Center for Talented Youth

Selected Publications

1. Sirianni RW, Olausson P, Chiu AS, Taylor JR, Saltzman WM. The behavioral and biochemical effects of BDNF containing polymers implanted in the hippocampus of rats. Brain Res. Mar 19 2010;1321:40-50.
   
   
2. Sirianni RW, Jang EH, Miller KM, Saltzman WM. Parameter estimation methodology in a model of hydrophobic drug release from a polymer coating. J Control Release. Mar 19 2010;142(3):474-482.
   
   
3. Sirianni RW, Kremer J, Guler I, Chen YL, Keeley FW, Saltzman WM. Effect of extracellular matrix elements on the transport of paclitaxel through an arterial wall tissue mimic. Biomacromolecules. Oct 2008;9(10):2792-2798.
   
   
4. Solis FJ, Weiss-Malik* RA, Vernon B. Local monomer activation model for phase behavior and calorimetric properties of LCST gel-forming polymers. Macromolecules. 2005;38(10): 4456-4464.
   
   
5. Weiss-Malik* RA, Solis FP, Vernon BL. (2004) Independent control of lower critical solution temperature and swelling behavior with pH for poly (N-isopropylacrylamide-co-maleic acid). Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 2004;94(5): 2110-2116.

*Formerly published as Rachael A. Weiss-Malik