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Research Spotlight
Dr. Lucila Garcia-Contreras
Lucila Garcia-Contreras, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Dr. Lucila Garcia-Contreras is an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences on the Oklahoma City campus. She joined the department in January 2011. The main interest of the research in her laboratory is the targeted delivery of drugs with a special focus on respiratory drug delivery. Her goal is to design therapies that are more efficient and more convenient in delivering therapeutic or prophylactic agents to the site of action, thereby maximizing efficacy and efficiency of the agent and minimizing its undesired side effects.
Her research objectives are encompassed in the following areas:
- Design and manufacture of novel formulations to deliver drugs and vaccines to the respiratory system (nasal and pulmonary)
- To study mechanisms of drug transport in the lung in order to maximize delivery strategies;
- To optimize currently proposed therapies for the treatment of pulmonary diseases such as tuberculosis and cystic fibrosis;
- To understand the mechanisms of immunogenicity and protection when vaccines are administered by the nasal and pulmonary route; and
- To design more effective therapies for the treatment of lung cancer.
Currently, Dr. Garcia-Contreras is involved in two funded grants that include:
- Development of cationic peptide adjuvants and formulations for Biodefense vaccine (NIH U01; principal investigator of subcontract).
- Inhaled caprazamycin for tuberculosis therapy (Research Triangle Institute; principal investigator of subcontract).