On June 1, 2026, the Dushu Forum · Frontier Forum on Medical-Engineering Integration was held at the Suzhou Institute for Advanced Research, USTC. Prof. Stefaan De Smedt from Ghent University, Belgium, delivered a lecture titled “Multi-Disciplinary Approaches for Precision Delivery of Bio-Therapeutics.”

Prof. De Smedt is a Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Controlled Release. He is also recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher for his contributions to nanomedicines and biotherapeutic delivery. In his lecture, he highlighted the transformative potential of nucleic acid biotherapeutics, ranging from gene silencing and gene editing to mRNA-based vaccination and cancer treatment. He also discussed the physicochemical and biopharmaceutical challenges of nanomedicines, including lipid nanoparticles, and introduced emerging strategies for delivering nucleic acids across extracellular, cellular, and organelle barriers.

The lecture further emphasized ocular drug delivery as an important example of local administration, demonstrating how advanced delivery systems may expand the therapeutic application of biotherapeutics beyond conventional liver-targeted approaches. Faculty and students from the Suzhou Institute for Advanced Research attended the lecture and engaged in discussions on pharmaceutical sciences, bioengineering, and clinical translation.

The forum provided a valuable platform for interdisciplinary exchange and deepened participants’ understanding of next-generation strategies for precision biotherapeutic delivery.

Author: Shilu Zhu

Editor: Ru Zhang

Photographer: Shilu Zhu