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.