Ambika Bajpayee
Assistant Professor, Bioengineering
Affiliated Faculty, Global Resilience Institute
Contact
- a.bajpayee@northeastern.edu
- 360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Office
- 216 ISEC
- 617.373.7018
Related Links
Research Focus
drug delivery; bio-electrostatics; transport phenomena in biological systems; biomechanics; osteoarthritis
About
Prof. Bajpayee works on drug delivery to connective and charged tissues such as cartilage, meniscus, intervertebral disc and mucosal membranes. Her lab utilizes concepts of nanomedicine and bio-electrostatics to design polypeptides and protein-based carriers for targeted and sustained delivery of small molecule drugs, protein growth factors, antibodies and genetic materials to specific intra-tissue and intra-cellular target sites inside connective tissues. A main focus is on using charge interactions and other binding mechanisms to rationally design drug carriers that can penetrate through the dense matrix of avascular, negatively charged tissues. Her lab is also interested in understanding mechanisms leading to degenerative joint diseases (e.g., osteoarthritis) due to ageing and traumatic injuries. The group strives to combine basic science with translational research to develop biomedical technologies.
Education
- PhD, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015
- MEng, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007
- BS, Mechanical Engineering, University of Delhi, 2006
Honors & Awards
- 2019 NIH Trailblazer Grant
Teaching Interests
- BIOE 5650, Multiscale Biomechanics
- BIOE5651, Fields, Forces and Flows
Professional Affiliations
- Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI)
- Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS)
- Society for Biomaterials (SFB)
- Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES)
Research Overview
drug delivery; bio-electrostatics; transport phenomena in biological systems; biomechanics; osteoarthritis
Selected Research Projects
- Cationic Contrast Agents for Cartilage Imaging
- – Principal Investigator, NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
- Cartilage Targeting Exosomes for Delivery of Anti- Catabolic Drugs for Osteoarthritis Treatment
- – Principal Investigator, NIH Trailblazer
Department Research Areas
Selected Publications
- C. Young, A. Vedadghavami, A.G. Bajpayee, Bioelectricity For Drug Delivery: The Promise of Cationic Therapeutics, Bioelectricity, 2020
- T. He, C. Zhang, A. Vedadghavami, S. Mehta, H. Clark, R. Porter, A.G. Bajpayee, Multi-Arm Avidin Cationic Nano-Construct as a Cationic Carrier for Intra-Cartilage Delivery of Small Molecules, Journal of Controlled Release, 318, 2020, 109-123
- S. Mehta, S. Akhtar, R.M. Porter, P. Onnerfjord, A.G. Bajpayee, IL-1Ra Is More Effective in Suppressing Cytokine Induced Catabolism in Cartilage-Synovium Co-Culture Compared to Cartilage Monoculture, Arthritis Research and Therapy, 21, 2019, 238
- A. Vedadghavami, E.K. Wagner, S. Mehta, T. He, C. Zhang, A.G. Bajpayee, Cartilage Penetrating Cationic Peptide Carriers for Applications in Drug Delivery to Avascular Negatively Charged Tissues, Acta Biomaterialia, 93, 2018, 258-269
- A.G. Bajpayee, A.J. Grodzinsky, Cartilage Targeting Drug Delivery: Can Electrostatic Interactions Help?, Nature Rheumatology Reviews, 13, 2017, 183-193

Mar 30, 2021
Two COE Students Win Goldwater Scholarships
Electrical engineering student Spencer Lake Jacobs-Skolik, E’22, and chemical engineering and biochemistry student Cameron Young, E’22, were awarded the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship, the United States’ premier award for outstanding young researchers in STEM fields.

Jan 08, 2021
Bajpayee Nominated as Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigator
BioE Assistant Professor Ambika Bajpayee was nominated as Biomaterials Science Emerging Investigator 2021 for her paper “Milk exosomes with enhanced mucus penetrability for oral delivery of siRNA.”

Oct 08, 2020
Developing Electrically Charged Biomaterials for Drug Delivery
BioE Assistant Professor Ambika Bajpayee, in collaboration with Ryan Porter from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, was awarded a $2.2M grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases for “Intra-Cartilage Depot Delivery of Electrically-Charged IL-1RA for Targeting Osteoarthritis-Associated Inflammation and Catabolism in Multiple Joint Tissues”.

Dec 05, 2019
Developing an Oral Time Released Drug Delivery System that Lasts a Month
BioE Assistant Professor Ambika Bajpayee is developing a drug delivery system that can remain in the stomach for weeks releasing medication slowly over the course of a month.

Aug 20, 2019
Bajpayee Awarded NIH Trailblazer R21 Grant
BioE Assistant Professor Ambika Bajpayee(PI) and Jiahe Li (co-PI) were awarded a $628K NIH Trailblazer grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering for “Anti-Catabolic Drug Anchored Cationic Exosomes For Cartilage Targeting And Repair”.
Apr 26, 2019
Wagner Named 2019 Goldwater Scholar
Earned the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship, the United States’ premier award for outstanding young researchers in STEM fields.

Feb 01, 2019
Bajpayee and Slavov Receive Sanofi iAwards
BioE Assistant Professors Ambika Bajpayee and Nikolai Slavov were each recipients of a $125K Sanofi iAward, which were created to promote scientific breakthroughs by tapping into the world’s greatest minds through close collaboration with renowned academic institutions.

Apr 27, 2018
BioE Professor Ambika Bajpayee receives NIH award
BioE Assistant Professor Ambika Bajpayee was awarded a $157k NIH grant for "Charge driven contrast enhanced computed tomography for imaging negatively charged tissues". The grant which will develop charge based probes for CT imaging of cartilage is a two-year R03 award with the NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. Read more about research […]

Feb 06, 2018
Groundbreaking Medical Research
At Northeastern University’s College of Engineering, a second-year student can be at the forefront of groundbreaking medical research. That’s exactly where Erica Wagner, BS Bioengineering 2020, finds herself right now. Working in the lab of BioE Assistant Professor Ambika Bajpayee, Wagner has been on the front lines of the creation of a new method of […]

Feb 05, 2018
Erica Wagner, E’20, Receives Early Research and Creative Endeavor Award
Working in the lab of BioE Assistant Professor Ambika Bajpayee, Erica Wagner has been on the front lines of the creation of a new method of treatment for intervertebral disc issues for which she recently received the Early Research and Creative Endeavor Award.