Dr Pakatip Ruenraroengsak

Dr Pakatip Ruenraroengsak is a Post-Doctoral research associate in the Lung Cell Biology Group at the National Heart and Lung Institute.

Dr Ruenraroengsak graduated from Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Thailand in 1998 and obtained her Masters in Pharmaceutical Science from the same University in 2002. During her undergraduate study, she spent a year working on emulsion-based topical formulation for protein drug delivery. Her Masters investigated the use of plant-derived compounds as topical treatment against local necrosis for poisonous snake bite; local necrosis is the most common consequence of cobra bite and approximately half of the victims develop local tissue necrosis. Dr Ruenraroengsak subsequently joined Professor A. T. Florence’s group at the Centre for Drug Delivery (CDDR), the School of Pharmacy, University of London to undertake a PhD in nanotechnology for drug delivery. Her project focused on polylysine-based dendrimer nanoparticles as a carrier system for DNA delivery which included dendrimer synthesis and physicochemical characterization, as well as formulation and investigation of the uptake of dendrimer and DNA-dendrimer nanoparticles. She also investigated the interaction between dendrimers and the cell cytoskeleton.     

Dr Ruenraroengsak joined the Lung Cell Biology group in 2008 as a MRC-funded post doctoral research associate and continues to develop her work on nanotoxicology, investigating the biological activity of engineered nanoparticles on human pulmonary alveolar epithelium and macrophages, as well as rodent cardiomyocytes. Her recent work has shown that the reactivity of nanoparticles with alveolar epithelium and cardiomyocytes (with Professor Yuri Korchev and Dr Julia Gorelik, Imperial College) critically depends on both particle size and surface chemistry/modification. Thus, the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles play an important role in the nature and degree of cytotoxicity, nanoparticle uptake into cells and translocation across cell barriers.  These investigations will help in the development of safe nanomaterials, to inform government to develop safety guidelines for occupational and other environmental purposes and will also contribute to developing nanoparticles for drug delivery and other medical applications.