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Lisa A. Delouise, Ph.D., M.P.D.

Contact Information

Phone Numbers

Administrative: (585) 275-1998

Office: (585) 275-1810

Fax: (585) 273-1346

Research Labs

We are bionanomaterials group that investigates novel biomedical devices for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

Visit We are bionanomaterials group that investigates novel biomedical devices for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Lab Website

Faculty Appointments

  • Associate Professor - Department of Dermatology (SMD)
  • Associate Professor - Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (RC) - Joint

Biography

Research

The DeLouise Bio-nanomaterials lab focuses broadly on investigating the interactions of exogenous insults on the skin and developing novel technologic approaches to probe these interactions. Skin is the largest organ of the body and a main route to allergen sensitization. A particular interest is to elucidate the mechanisms by which nano and microscale particles can alter skin immune responses in the context of skin allergy. Nano and microscale particles are ubiquitous in the environment where they may be derived from air pollution sources, cigarette smoke or the degradation of plastic waste and hence can unintentionally contact the skin. Further, due to their unique physiochemical, mechanical and electrical properties of nanomaterials they are increasingly exploited in industrial applications and are formulated into consumer products including cosmetic lotions thus increasing the probability of skin exposure. Our studies find that skin exposure to nanoparticles can exacerbate and in some cases mitigate skin allergic symptoms. What is interesting is that heathy skin is a formidable barrier that hinders nanoparticle penetration. While some conditions that disrupt the skin barrier function, such as ultraviolet radiation induced sunburn, can enhance penetration, the free diffusion of nanoparticles into the skin does not occur. Rather nanoparticles tend to collect in the stratum corneum layers, skin furrows and hair follicles. This means that the profound impact nanoparticles exert on skin immune responses likely results from signaling cascades derived in outermost layers of the epidermis. Our on-going studies seek to discover these mechanisms and the specific molecular and cellular signals that shift immune responses from proinflammatory to immunosuppressive. Specific focuses areas seek to elucidate the effect of nanoparticles on exosome biogenesis and their cargo and on collagen fiber orientation. Changes in these can effect polarization of immune cells and their trafficking in the skin. Development and use of novel technologies and collaborations are central to advancing this work. We exploit near IR intravital imaging, nanoporous membranes for isolating nano and microparticles from the environment and microbubble array technology to dissect the heterogeneity of biological samples.

Tissue samples are comprised of heterogeneous cell populations and analysis of a bulk sample yields an average response where important information about a small but potentially relevant subpopulation is diluted out. High-throughput single cell screening technologies can facilitate the discovery of these rare cells. The DeLouise lab invented microbubble array technology and Nidus MB Technologies was founded to commercialize their use in high throughput single cell and tissue screening applications. MBs are spherical nanoliter (0.5-50 nL) cavities molded into arrays containing 200 to >4000 MBs/cm2. The unique spherical architecture of the MB provides a microenvironmental niche that cells can rapidly condition which favors single cell survival, proliferation and concentration of cell secreted factors. Assays have been developed to screen B cells to discover antigen specific antibodies and drug resistant cancer cells. Current efforts seek to develop a salivary gland tissue chip for screening radio protective drugs as well as developing an antigen agnostic assay to discover neutralizing antibodies against vaccinia and SARS-CoV-2 viruses. High content image base detection methods are routinely used in these assays which requires development of sophisticated machine learning approaches for MB detection and analysis of the contents in each valid MB in the array over time. On-going efforts seek to develop user friendly graphical interfaces, powerful data analytics and to automate the cell/tissue retrieval process from selected MBs.

Credentials

Education

1979
BS | Providence College
Chemistry

1984
PhD | Penn State University
Physical Chemistry

2001
MPD | Rochester Inst Technology
Product Development

Patents

Patent Title: Microfluidic Device and Method of Manufacturing the Microfluidic Device
Patent #: 9,457,497
Issue Date: Oct 04, 2016
Country: United States
Invented By: Lisa A DeLouise

Patent Title: Microfluidic Device and Method of Manufacturing the Microfluidic Device
Patent #: 9,346,197
Issue Date: May 24, 2016
Country: United States
Invented By: Lisa A DeLouise

Patent Title: Method of Enriching Stem and/or Progenitor Cells
Patent #: 8,753,880
Issue Date: Jun 17, 2014
Country: United States
Invented By: Siddarth Chandrasekaran, Lisa A DeLouise

Patent Title: Hybrid Target Analyte Responsive Polymer Sensor with Optical Amplification
Patent #: 8,841,137
Issue Date: Sep 23, 2014
Country: United States
Invented By: Lisa Bonanno, Lisa A DeLouise

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Publications

Journal Articles

9/25/2023
Wong Lau A, Perez Pineda J, DeLouise LA. "Immunomodulatory effects of nanoparticles on dendritic cells in a model of allergic contact dermatitis: importance of PD-L2 expression." Scientific reports.. 2023 Sep 25; 13(1):15992. Epub 2023 Sep 25.

7/13/2023
Piraino L, Chen CY, Mereness J, Dunman PM, Ovitt C, Benoit D, DeLouise L. "Identifying novel radioprotective drugs via salivary gland tissue chip screening." bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology.. 2023 Jul 13; Epub 2023 Jul 13.

7/12/2023
Lau AW, Pineda JP, DeLouise LA. "Immunomodulatory Effects of Nanoparticles on Dendritic Cells in a Model of Allergic Contact Dermatitis - Importance of PD-L2 Expression." Research square.. 2023 Jul 12; Epub 2023 Jul 12.

Books & Chapters

2009
Chapter Title: "Breeching Epithelial Barriers - Physiochemical Factors Impacting Nanoparticle Translocation and Toxicity",
Book Title: Safety of Nanoparticles: From Manufacturing to Medical Applications
Author List: DeLouise, L.A., Mortensen, L.; Elder, A.,
Edited By: Thomas J. Webster
Published By: Springer Science, Business Media 2009

2008
Chapter Title: Biodetection Using Silicon Photonic Crystal Microcavities,
Book Title: Biophotonics
Author List: PM Fauchet, BL Miller, LA DeLouise, MR Lee, and H Ouyang,
Edited By: L Pavesi and PM Fauchet
Published By: Springer 2008

1994
Book Title: Surface Reactions on Semiconductors Studied by Molecular Beam Reactive
Author List: Ming L. Yu and L.A. DeLouise,
Published By: Surface Science Reports 1994

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