Debra Auguste

Professor,  Chemical Engineering

Contact

Office

  • 327 ISEC
  • 617.373.6243

Lab

  • 360 ISEC

Research Focus

Bioresponsive drug delivery; cell and tissue engineering; tissue architecture; targeted therapeutics; breast cancer

About

Joined the Chemical Engineering Department in Fall 2016.

Education

  • 2005 PhD in Chemical Engineering, Princeton University
  • 1999 SB in Chemical Engineering, MIT

Honors & Awards

  • 2022 Outstanding Faculty Service Award
  • 2020 American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow
  • 2018 Biomedical Engineering Society Fellow
  • 2012 Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering (PECASE)
  • 2012 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award
  • 2011 NSF CAREER Award
  • 2010 Participant, National Academy of Engineering, Frontiers of Engineering Meeting
  • 2010 Named 50 Most Influential African-Americans in Technology
  • 2009 DARPA Young Faculty Award
  • 2007 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Program Award

Leadership Positions

  • Board of Directors, Biomedical Engineering Society

Professional Affiliations

  • American Chemical Society
  • American Institute of Chemical Engineers
  • Biomedical Engineering Society
  • Materials Research Society

Research Overview

Bioresponsive drug delivery; cell and tissue engineering; tissue architecture; targeted therapeutics; breast cancer

Debra Auguste has designed a drug delivery system that more effectively targets a particularly difficult-to-treat form of breast cancer and keeps it from metastasizing.

Auguste Lab for Bioresponsive Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering

Our lab engineers solutions to address current challenges in medicine. We design, synthesize, and evaluate new biomaterials that change the way we deliver drugs and cells. These materials exhibit cooperative or heterogeneous features, exemplified in nature.

Lab Website

Selected Publications

  • P. Guo, J. Yang, D. Liu, L. Huang, G. Fell, J. Huang, M.A. Moses, D.T. Auguste, Dual Complementary Liposomes Inhibit Triple-Negative Breast Tumor Progression and Metastasis, Science Advances, 5(3), 2019, eaav5010
  • D.E. Large, J.R. Soucy, J. Hebert, D.T. Auguste, Advances in Receptor-Mediated, Tumor-Targeted Drug Delivery, Advanced Therapeutics, 2018
  • P. Guo, D. Liu, K. Subramanyam, B. Wang, J. Yang, J. Huang D.T. Auguste, M.A. Moses, Nanoparticle Elasticity Directs Tumor Uptake, Nature Communications, 9(130), 2018
  • D. Liu, D.T. Auguste, Peptide Density Targets and Impedes Triple Negative Breast Cancer Metastasis, Nature Communications, 9, 2018, 2612
  • P. Guo, B. Wang, D. Liu, J. Yang, K. Subramanyam, C. McCarthy, J. Hebert, M. Moses, D.T. Auguste, Using Atomic Force Microscopy to Predict Tumor Specificity of ICAM1 Antibody-Directed Nanomedicines, Nano Letters, 18, 2018, 2254-2262
  • P. Guo, J. Yang, D. Jia, M.A. Moses, D.T. Auguste, ICAM-1-Targeted, Lcn2 siRNA-Encapsulated Liposomes are Potent Anti-Angiogenic Agents for Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Theranostics, 6, 2016, 1-13
  • D. Liu, D.T. Auguste, Cancer Targeted Therapeutics: From Molecules to Drug Delivery Vehicles, Journal of Controlled Release, 219, 2015, 632-643
  • B. Wang, P. Guo, D.T. Auguste, Mapping the CXCR4 Receptor on Breast Cancer Cells, Biomaterials, 57, 2015, 161-8
  • T.T. Ho, J.O. You, D.T. Auguste, siRNA Delivery Impedes the Temporal Expression of Cytokine-Activated VCAM1 on Endothelial Cells, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2015, 1-8

Undergraduate

Jan 30, 2024

2024 Goldwater Scholarship Nominees

Maya De Los Santos, electrical and computer engineering, Kaitlyn Ramesh, bioengineering, and Madeline Szoo, chemical engineering and biochemistry, were nominated for the 2024 Barry Goldwater Scholarship—a highly competitive, merit-based award for outstanding students in mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering who are interested in pursuing careers in research.

debra auguste

In the Media

Sep 21, 2023

NASA Receives Decadal Survey on Biological, Physical Sciences Research

ChE Professor Debra Auguste participated in a NASA Decadal panel that was featured in Science, Space.com, WMFE Orlando/NPR, Gizmodo, Space News, Space Policy Online, Aviation Week, Tech Times, Trill Magazine, FYI News, University of Florida, Cornell University, and MIT.

Undergraduate

Feb 16, 2023

2023 Goldwater Scholarship Nominees

Siddharth Simon, E’24, and Madeline Szoo, E’25, were nominated for the 2023 Barry Goldwater Scholarship.

debra auguste

Faculty

Sep 16, 2022

New Techniques of Treating Breast Cancer

ChE Professor Debra Auguste is developing a new targeted approach to treating triple-negative breast cancer–a form of the disease more prevalent in younger women, with a higher rate of mortality among African American women. By using ultra-deformable liposomes, drugs intended to combat the cancer can be applied to the source with more accuracy, increasing their effectiveness.

Undergraduate

May 18, 2022

Announcing Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awardees

Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Summer 2022 PEAK Experiences Awards.

Faculty

Apr 15, 2022

Faculty and Staff Awards 2022

Congratulations to all the winners of the faculty and staff awards, and to everyone for their hard work and dedication during the 2021-2022 academic school year.

Undergraduate

Oct 12, 2021

Announcing Fall 2021 PEAK Experiences Awardees

Several engineering students and science students mentored by COE faculty are recipients of Northeastern’s Fall 2021 PEAK Experiences Awards. The PEAK Experiences Awards are a progressively structured sequence of opportunities designed to support learners as they continue climbing to new heights of achievement in undergraduate research and creative endeavor throughout their Northeastern journeys. ASCENT AWARDS […]

Faculty

Apr 20, 2021

FY22 TIER 1 Award Recipients

Congratulations to the 17 COE faculty and affiliates who were recipients of FY22 TIER 1 Interdisciplinary Research Seed Grants for 11 different projects.

In the Media

Feb 01, 2021

1,000 inspiring Black scientists in America

ChE Assistant Professor Andrew Jones, Professor Debra Auguste, Assistant Professor Eno Ebong, and Solomon Mensah (former PhD student of Eno Ebong) were featured in Cell Mentor’s article of “1,000 inspiring Black scientists in America.”

debra auguste

Faculty

Mar 27, 2020

Auguste Selected as AIMBE Fellow

ChE Professor Debra Auguste was selected as an American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Fellow in recognition of “her distinguished and continuing achievements in medical and biological engineering”.

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