VilosLab

Dr. Cristian Vilos is the principal investigator of the Laboratory of Nanomedicine Targeted Delivery at the School of Medicine of the University of Talca. Dr. Vilos is focused on the development of advanced nanotherapeutics based on polymeric nanoparticles for the intracellular release of macromolecules, improvements in poorly water-soluble drugs, the co-liberation of therapeutic agents, and the advancement of therapies based on targeted delivery of drugs to particular cells or tissues. The foundations of his investigation involve several fields related to the pipeline of "drug development," including the study of nano-bio interactions, self-assembled nanostructures, advanced materials including co-polymers, and stimuli-responsive biopolymers, and drug delivery based on nanopharmacology. All of the above, including the mechanisms involved with the fundamental biology, physiology, nanotoxicology, and nanosafety.
Dr. Vilos majored in Medical Technology at the University of Talca and later received his Ph.D. in Biotechnology at the University of Santiago in Chile. From 2013 to 2015, Dr. Vilos was a Visiting Professor and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Biomaterials at Department of Anesthesia at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School (HMS) mentored by Professor Omid Farokhzad. Also, Dr. Vilos was a member of the Langer Lab at David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Vilos was a principal investigator of the Faculty of Medicine of Andres Bello University (2012-2018) and was awarded for his outstanding scientific career as a young researcher.
Currently, Dr. Vilos lead the Line-4 of Nanobiomedicine at the Basal Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CEDENNA) supported by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT) of the Government of Chile. The leading projects under development in his laboratory are centered on colorectal cancer. He hypothesizes that combined therapy based on p38α MAPK inhibitor (skepinone-L) with the chemotherapeutic drugs (5–FU, irinotecan, or cisplatin) encapsulated in targeted nanoparticles induce a mechanistic synergism on the cellular death of sensitive and resistant colorectal cancer (Fondecyt Regular). Other projects in progress include the development of nanotherapies based MAPK and MEK/ERK inhibitors for colorectal cancer (Fondecyt-Postdoc) and the study of synergism of combined therapy based on mTOR inhibitor and cytotoxic agents for colorectal cancer. Also, Dr. Vilos is running a handful of projects related to chronic pain, migration of neutrophil, antiplatelet effects, bone regeneration, and targeted ligand development.