Dr. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul obtained his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Oregon Health & Science University. He currently serves as the COO and Head of Research at PDX Pharmaceuticals. He has developed a patented mesoporous silica-based nanoparticle platform called Pdx-NP™ for the delivery or co-delivery of siRNAs, antisense oligonucleotides, adjuvants, peptides, immunotherapeutic agents, antibodies, chemotherapeutics, and other small molecule drugs. With different therapeutic cargoes, this core nanotechnology has led to several therapeutic or vaccine candidates in the company's pipeline, including the cancer-targeted therapeutics T-siHER2-NP™, PETTRA™; the cancer immunotherapeutics ARAC™, AIRISE™, and NICCI™; and the AIRISE-VAC™ vaccine platforms for infectious diseases. He has served as the principal investigator on five competitive Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants, securing approximately $10 million in non-dilutive funding from the National Cancer Institute to advance these technologies. Dr. Ngamcherdtrakul is an inventor of 6 issued US patents and 1 issued EU patent. Furthermore, he has authored several high-impact peer-reviewed publications describing these different therapeutic or vaccine candidates in renowned journals, such as Advanced Materials, Nature Communications, Advanced Functional Materials, and Small. Dr. Ngamcherdtrakul was also recognized as one of Portland Business Journal's prestigious '40 Under 40′ honorees for 2024.