Esther H. Chang

Esther H. Chang, PhD, is a member of the Departments of Oncology and Otolaryngology at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center of Georgetown University Medical Center, USA. She previously held positions at the National Cancer Institute, Stanford University, and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. She is president of the American Society for Nanomedicine and an executive board member of the International Society for Nanomedicine. Dr. Chang is the founding scientist of and senior consultant for SynerGene Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held company that has five ongoing clinical trials for two distinct nanomedicines. She has over 140 scientific publications and has served as a member of a number of scientific advisory boards for NCI, NASA, the US Military Cancer Institute, and the Department of Energy. Dr. Chang’s research effort focuses primarily on the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis and in translating this basic information into new clinical modalities. She has been a contributor in the understanding of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. She has also contributed to the understanding of the molecular basis of resistance to radiation and chemotherapy. She is the inventor/co-inventor of 115 issued patents (50 applications being prosecuted) surrounding a tumor-targeting nanodelivery platform being developed by SynerGene. This nanodelivery system represents a broad platform nanotechnology in that the payload for delivery can include gene therapy, siRNAs/miRNAs, antisense oligonucleotides, imaging agents, and chemotherapeutic agents.