CURRICULUM VITAE

Kam W. Leong, Ph.D. Samuel Y. Sheng Professor

Editor-in-Chief, Biomaterials Department of Biomedical Engineering

Systems Biology COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Education

Sc.B. - Chemical Engineering (1977) University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, California Ph.D. - Chemical Engineering (1987) University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Appointment

2014 – present Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University 2006 – 2014 Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and joint appointment in Department of

Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Duke University 1998 – 2006 Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine; and joint appointment in

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins University 1986 – 1998 Assistant and Associate (1991) Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of

Medicine; Dept. Materials Sci. and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University 1998 – 2003 Program Technical Advisor of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Program at Institute of

Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Singapore 1999 – 2006 Principal Investigator, Johns Hopkins Singapore

Academy Membership National Academy of Engineering (United States – elected in 2013) National Academy of Inventors (United States – elected in 2013

Honorary Professorship 2002 Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China 2013 Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China 2014 Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China 2016 Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China 2017 Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China

Honor and Award (past 5 Years)

2017 Lifetime Achievement Award – Chinese American Society of Nanotechnology & Nanomedicine 2016 President’s Fellowship for Distinguished Scientist - Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) 2015 Savio L-Y. Woo Distinguished Lectureship - World Ass. for Chinese Biomedical Engineers 2014 Samuel Y. Sheng Professor of Biomedical Engineering - Columbia University 2013 Distinguished Scientist Award - International Journal of Nanomedicine 2012 Clemson Award for Applied Research – Society for Biomaterials

Publication 330 refereed manuscripts; 54 patents

# citations via Google Scholar: ~34,000; h-index=95

Selected Publications

1. Ji H, Atchison L, Chen Z, Chakraborty S, Jung Y, Truskey GA, Christoforou N, and Leong KW*. Transdifferentiation of human endothelial progenitors into smooth muscle cells. Biomaterials, 85:180-94. (2016)

2. Chakraborty S, Ji HY, Kabadi AM, Gersbach CA, Christoforou N, Leong KW*. A CRISPR/Cas9-Based System for Reprogramming Cell Lineage Specification. Stem Cell Reports, 3(6):940-7. (2014)

3. Kulangara K, Adler AF, Wang H, Chellappan M, Hammett E, Yasuda R, Leong KW*. Effect of substrate topo-graphy on direct reprogramming of fibroblasts to induced neurons. Biomaterials, 35(20): p. 5327-36. (2014)

4. Kulangara K, Yang Y, Yang J, and Leong KW*. Nanotopography as modulator of human mesenchymal stem cell function. Biomaterials, 33:4998-5003. (2012)

5. Yim EK, Darling EM, Kulangara K, Guilak F, and Leong KW*. Nanotopography-induced changes in focal adhesions, cytoskeletal organization, and mechanical properties of human mesenchymal stem cells. Biomaterials, 31:1299-306. (2010)

6. Perez-Pinera P, Kocak DD, Vockley CM, Adler AF, Kabadi AM, Polstein LR, Thakore PI, Glass KA, Ousterout DG, Leong KW, Guilak F, Crawford GE, Reddy TE, and Gersbach CA*. RNA-guided gene activation by CRISPR-Cas9-based transcription factors. Nature Methods, 10(10): p. 973-6. (2013)

7. St John AL, Chan CY, Staats HF, Leong KW, and Abraham SN*, Synthetic mast-cell granules as adjuvants to promote and polarize immunity in lymph nodes. Nature Materials, 11(3): p. 250-7. (2012)

8. Oney S, Lam RT, Bompiani KM, Blake CM, Quick G, Heidel JD, Liu JY, Mack BC, Davis ME, Leong KW, and Sullenger BA*, Development of universal antidotes to control aptamer activity. Nature Medicine, 15(10): p. 1224-8. (2009)

9. Salem AK, Searson PC, and Leong KW*, Multifunctional nanorods for gene delivery. Nature Materials, 2(10): p. 668-71. (2003)

10. Roy K, Mao HQ, Huang SK, and Leong KW*, Oral gene delivery with chitosan--DNA nanoparticles generates immunologic protection in a murine model of peanut allergy. Nature Medicine, 5(4): p. 387-91. (1999)

Teaching Introduction to Biomaterials; Biomedical Polymers; Tissue Engineering; Nanomedicine

40 Ph.D. Students Graduated; 60 Post-Doctoral Scholars Trained

Research Interest Leong’s research focuses on understanding and exploiting the interactions of cells with biomaterials for therapeutic applications. Beginning in 1985, he has been applying controlled release principles to the delivery of chemotherapeutics, DNA-based therapeutics, and cells via polymeric biomaterials. In cancer therapy, Leong was instrumental in the development of Gliadel, a controlled-release polymer invented in Professor Robert Langer’s laboratory for delivering carmustine to the brain for treatment of glioblastoma after surgical removal. With Dr. Tadao Ohno he developed a tumor vaccine comprising cytokines and autologous tumor tissue fragments. It has been used to treat over 350 brain cancer patients in Japan. In nonviral gene therapy, Leong demonstrated the feasibility of using DNA nanoparticles to deliver genes orally. He has also developed nanomanufacturing techniques to produce DNA nanoparticles, a critical barrier in the eventual translation of nonviral gene therapy. In regenerative medicine, Leong pioneered the application of DNA nanoparticles to directly convert fibroblasts into functional neurons, raising the possibility of direct cell reprogramming in situ. Recently, he has focused on the development of nanoparticle-mediated genome editing technologies.