Kathryn Whitehead
Professor, Chemical Engineering
Courtesy Appointment, Biomedical Engineering
Kathryn Whitehead is a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Whitehead joined the Department of Chemical Engineering as an assistant professor in 2012. She obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware in 2002 and her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2007. As a graduate student in the laboratory of Samir Mitragotri, Whitehead developed systems for the oral delivery of macromolecules. From 2008 - 2012, she undertook postdoctoral training with Bob Langer at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. There, she developed biomaterials and methodologies for the advancement of RNA interference therapeutics. Whitehead is a native Pennsylvanian, having grown up in Allentown.
The research interests of the Whitehead Lab lie at the interface of chemical engineering, molecular biology, and medicine. The group’s ultimate goal is to engineer safe and effective drug delivery systems capable of achieving therapeutic outcomes in biological models and, ultimately, in humans. As a first step, the Whitehead Lab is interested in developing a fundamental understanding of the relationship between delivery barrier biology and drug transport. To accomplish this, the group is employing RNA interference, a biological phenomenon that induces gene silencing in the presence of siRNA. Through the identification of cellular components essential to the drug transport process, the group is able to design delivery systems using modern chemical techniques to overcome or cooperate with those components. Specifically, Whitehead’s Lab is interested in the development of delivery systems for the nucleus, the intestinal epithelium, and various leukocytes, including B lymphoma cells.
mRNA offers potential new treatment for pancreatic diseases
The future of medicine: using mRNA to treat disease
Katie Whitehead: Using Breast Milk to Improve Infant Drug Delivery
Nanotherapeutics: Improving Cancer Cell Treatment
Advanced Nanoparticle Research for Drug Delivery
Education
2007 Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara
2002 BS, Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware
Affiliations
Media mentions
Chemical Engineering
Linking chemistry with immune response to advance drug delivery
By filling in the missing link between lipid chemistry and immune response, Kathryn Whitehead is helping to expand the use of lipid nanoparticles beyond RNA vaccines.
CMU Engineering
Designing nanoparticles for pregnancy-safe treatments
Researchers identify lipid nanoparticles that safely deliver mRNA to the placenta and non-reproductive organs during pregnancy without harming the fetus.
Keystone Symposia
Whitehead organizes symposium
ChemE’s Katie Whitehead co-organized the Keystone Symposium on Delivery of Nucleic Acid Therapeutics in Banff, Alberta, Canada in late January. Ph.D. alum Khalid Hajj (2019), postdoc Sai Yerneni, and Ph.D. student Mariah Arral also attended.
Arral earns bionanotechnology graduate student award at AIChE
ChemE Ph.D. candidate Mariah L. Arral won 3rd place in the 2023 Bionanotechnology Graduate Student Awards at the 2023 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) annual meeting.
Chemical Engineering
Arral honored as one of AIChE’s 35 Under 35
Ph.D. student Mariah L. Arral is honored in the education and outreach category of AIChE’s 35 Under 35.
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
Whitehead highlighted for packaging mRNA for the pancreas
Research by ChemE/BME’s Kathryn Whitehead was featured as a Science Highlight by the NIBIB, part of the NIH. Whitehead's lab developed lipid nanoparticles that are designed to carry mRNA specifically to the pancreas.
CMU Engineering
Delivering mRNA therapeutics to the pancreas
Kathryn Whitehead is at the forefront of the mRNA delivery field, changing the chemistry of nanoparticle delivery vehicles to enable them to reach organs beyond the liver.
CMU Engineering
Mother’s milk cells key to novel infant disease therapy
Kathryn Whitehead is exploring ways to utilize the unique properties of breast milk to develop a novel approach to infant disease therapy.
Chemical Engineering
Whitehead featured on CBS Evening News
On Sunday, February 28th, CBS Evening News featured Carnegie Mellon Chemical Engineering Professor Kathryn Whitehead, who sat down with CBS’s Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Jon LaPook, to discuss the future of mRNA drug delivery.
Pittsburgh Business Times
Whitehead featured in Pittsburgh Business Times
In the Pittsburgh Business Times’ latest “Personalities of Pittsburgh” article, Paul Gough sits down with ChemE’s Katie Whitehead to discuss mRNA vaccines, science communication, Whitehead’s hobbies, and more.
BBC
Whitehead quoted on mRNA abilities
ChemE’s Katie Whitehead was quoted in BBC on the capabilities of mRNA.
Chemical Engineering
Student spotlight: Mariah Arral
CMU Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student, Mariah Arral, has never let anything stand in the way of pursuing her dreams. From battling through financial hardship to overcoming disabilities like autism and dyslexia, she continues to work towards a career in academia, one that many told her would never happen.