Wassana Yantasee, Ph.D.

  • Professor of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine
  • Program in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, School of Medicine

Biography

My research is dedicated to developing novel therapeutics and vaccines for cancer and infectious diseases. These advancements are built upon our patented versatile nanoparticle platform designed for delivering siRNA, small molecule drugs, antibodies, antigens and/or adjuvants.

In order to bring our drug candidates to patients, I founded the startup company PDX Pharmaceuticals in 2010. In collaboration with OHSU, we have raised more than $13 million to conduct preclinical studies and investigational new drug studies. The lead drug candidates leverage the body's immune system to combat cancer while modulating the immunosuppression of hosts for a potent response. 

My lab takes pride in mentoring graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and research assistants, many of whom have gone on to prestigious colleges, graduate programs and medical schools. I have also served on approximately 40 scientific review panels for the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies.

Outside of work, I am an avid gardener and enjoy cultivating bonsai. I also value spending time with my family and cooking Thai foods for my team.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • Ph.D., 2001, Oregon State University
    • M.B.A., 2001, Oregon State University
    • M.S., 1999, Oregon State University
    • B.S., 1995, Chulalongkorn University

Honors and awards

  • Ronald L. Brodzinski Early Career Scientific Achievement Award, 2007, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • Council of Outstanding Early Career Engineers, 2014, OSU

Publications

Selected publications

  • 1. Ruijie Wang, Pramod Kumar, Moataz Reda, Alyssa G Wallstrum, Noah A Crumrine, Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul, Wassana Yantasee, Nanotechnology Applications in Breast Cancer Immunotherapy, SMALL, 2023, 2308639
  • 2. Nelson, M.A., Ngamcherdtrakul, W., Luoh, S., Yantasee, W. Prognostic and therapeutic role of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte subtypes in breast cancer. Cancer Metastasis and Reviews, 2021, 40, 519–536. 

Publications

  • Development of a nanoparticle-based immunotherapy targeting PD-L1 and PLK1 for lung cancer treatment

    Nature communications
    1. Moataz Reda
    2. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    3. Molly A. Nelson
    4. Natnaree Siriwon
    5. Ruijie Wang
    6. Husam Y. Zaidan
    7. Daniel S. Bejan
    8. Sherif Reda
    9. Ngoc Ha Hoang
    10. Noah A. Crumrine
    11. Justin P.C. Rehwaldt
    12. Akash Bindal
    13. Gordon B. Mills
    14. Joe W. Gray
    15. Wassana Yantasee

  • Targeted Nanoparticle for Co-delivery of HER2 siRNA and a Taxane to Mirror the Standard Treatment of HER2+ Breast Cancer

    Small
    1. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    2. Daniel S. Bejan
    3. William Cruz-Muñoz
    4. Moataz Reda
    5. Husam Y. Zaidan
    6. Natnaree Siriwon
    7. Suphalak Marshall
    8. Ruijie Wang
    9. Molly A. Nelson
    10. Justin P.C. Rehwaldt
    11. Joe W. Gray
    12. Kullervo Hynynen
    13. Wassana Yantasee

  • In Situ Tumor Vaccination with Nanoparticle Co-Delivering CpG and STAT3 siRNA to Effectively Induce Whole-Body Antitumor Immune Response

    Advanced Materials
    1. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    2. Moataz Reda
    3. Molly A. Nelson
    4. Ruijie Wang
    5. Husam Y. Zaidan
    6. Daniel S. Bejan
    7. Ngoc Ha Hoang
    8. Ryan S. Lane
    9. Shiuh Wen Luoh
    10. Sancy A. Leachman
    11. Gordon B. Mills
    12. Joe W. Gray
    13. Amanda W. Lund
    14. Wassana Yantasee

  • Roadmap for metal nanoparticles in radiation therapy

    Physics in Medicine and Biology
    1. Jan Schuemann
    2. Alexander F. Bagley
    3. Ross Berbeco
    4. Kyle Bromma
    5. Karl T. Butterworth
    6. Hilary L. Byrne
    7. B. Devika Chithrani
    8. Sang Hyun Cho
    9. Jason R. Cook
    10. Vincent Favaudon
    11. Yaser H. Gholami
    12. Elisabetta Gargioni
    13. James F. Hainfeld
    14. Félicien Hespeels
    15. Anne Catherine Heuskin
    16. Udoka M. Ibeh
    17. Zdenka Kuncic
    18. Sijumon Kunjachan
    19. Sandrine Lacombe
    20. Stéphane Lucas
    21. François Lux
    22. Stephen McMahon
    23. Dmitry Nevozhay
    24. Wilfred Ngwa
    25. J. Donald Payne
    26. Sébastien Penninckx
    27. Erika Porcel
    28. Kevin M. Prise
    29. Hans Rabus
    30. Sharif M. Ridwan
    31. Benedikt Rudek
    32. Léon Sanche
    33. Bijay Singh
    34. Henry M. Smilowitz
    35. Konstantin V. Sokolov
    36. Srinivas Sridhar
    37. Yaroslav Stanishevskiy
    38. Wonmo Sung
    39. Olivier Tillement
    40. Needa Virani
    41. Wassana Yantasee
    42. Sunil Krishnan

  • Lanthanide-Loaded Nanoparticles as Potential Fluorescent and Mass Probes for High-Content Protein Analysis

    Bioengineering
    1. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    2. Thanapon Sangvanich
    3. Shaun Goodyear
    4. Moataz Reda
    5. Shenda Gu
    6. David J. Castro
    7. Primana Punnakitikashem
    8. Wassana Yantasee

  • PLK1 and EGFR targeted nanoparticle as a radiation sensitizer for non-small cell lung cancer

    Cancer Letters
    1. Moataz Reda
    2. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    3. Shenda Gu
    4. Daniel S. Bejan
    5. Natnaree Siriwon
    6. Joe W. Gray
    7. Wassana Yantasee

  • Removal of a gadolinium based contrast agent by a novel sorbent hemoperfusion in a chronic kidney disease (CKD) rodent model

    Scientific Reports
    1. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    2. Jingga Morry
    3. Thanapon Sangvanich
    4. Moataz Reda
    5. Daniel S. Bejan
    6. Glen E. Fryxell
    7. Wassana Yantasee

  • Selective capture of radionuclides (U, Pu, Th, Am and Co) using functional nanoporous sorbents

    Journal of Hazardous Materials
    1. Wassana Yantasee
    2. Glen E. Fryxell
    3. Kanda Pattamakomsan
    4. Thanapon Sangvanich
    5. Robert J. Wiacek
    6. Brad Busche
    7. Raymond S. Addleman
    8. Charles Timchalk
    9. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    10. Natnaree Siriwon

  • Lack of acquired resistance in HER2-positive breast cancer cells after long-term HER2 siRNA nanoparticle treatment

    PloS one
    1. Shenda Gu
    2. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    3. Moataz Reda
    4. Zhi Hu
    5. Joe W. Gray
    6. Wassana Yantasee

  • Lyophilization and stability of antibody-conjugated mesoporous silica nanoparticle with cationic polymer and PEG for siRNA delivery

    International journal of nanomedicine
    1. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    2. Thanapon Sangvanich
    3. Moataz Reda
    4. Shenda Gu
    5. Daniel Bejan
    6. Wassana Yantasee

  • Targeted treatment of metastatic breast cancer by PLK1 siRNA delivered by an antioxidant nanoparticle platform

    Molecular cancer therapeutics
    1. Jingga Morry
    2. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    3. Shenda Gu
    4. Moataz Reda
    5. David J. Castro
    6. Thanapon Sangvanich
    7. Joe W. Gray
    8. Wassana Yantasee

  • Therapeutic siRNA for drug-resistant HER2-positive breast cancer

    Oncotarget
    1. Shenda Gu
    2. Zhi Hu
    3. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    4. David J. Castro
    5. Jingga Morry
    6. Moataz M. Reda
    7. Joe W. Gray
    8. Wassana Yantasee

  • Cationic polymer modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles for targeted siRNA delivery to HER2+ breast cancer

    Advanced Functional Materials
    1. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    2. Jingga Morry
    3. Shenda Gu
    4. David J. Castro
    5. Shaun M. Goodyear
    6. Thanapon Sangvanich
    7. Moataz M. Reda
    8. Richard Lee
    9. Samuel A. Mihelic
    10. Brandon L. Beckman
    11. Zhi Hu
    12. Joe W. Gray
    13. Wassana Yantasee

  • Dermal delivery of HSP47 siRNA with NOX4-modulating mesoporous silica-based nanoparticles for treating fibrosis

    Biomaterials
    1. Jingga Morry
    2. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    3. Shenda Gu
    4. Shaun M. Goodyear
    5. David J. Castro
    6. Moataz M. Reda
    7. Thanapon Sangvanich
    8. Wassana Yantasee

  • Novel oral detoxification of mercury, cadmium, and lead with thiol-modified nanoporous silica

    ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
    1. Thanapon Sangvanich
    2. Jingga Morry
    3. Cade Fox
    4. Worapol Ngamcherdtrakul
    5. Shaun Goodyear
    6. David Castro
    7. Glen E. Fryxell
    8. Raymond S. Addleman
    9. Anne O. Summers
    10. Wassana Yantasee

  • Improved deposition and deprotection of silane tethered 3,4 hydroxypyridinone (HOPO) ligands on functionalized nanoporous silica

    Inorganic Chemistry Communications
    1. Joseph D. Davidson
    2. Robert J. Wiacek
    3. Sarah Burton
    4. Xiaohong S. Li
    5. Glen E. Fryxell
    6. R. Shane Addleman
    7. Wassana Yantasee
    8. Thanapon Sangvanich
    9. Kanda Pattamakomsan

  • Chloromethylated activated carbon

    Separation Science and Technology
    1. William D. Samuels
    2. Nikki H. LaFemina
    3. Vichaya Sukwarotwat
    4. Wassana Yantasee
    5. Xiaohong S. Li
    6. Glen E. Fryxell

  • Functionalized nanoporous silica for the removal of heavy metals from biological systems

    ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
    1. Wassana Yantasee
    2. Ryan D. Rutledge
    3. Wilaiwan Chouyyok
    4. Vichaya Sukwarotwat
    5. Galya Orr
    6. Cynthia L. Warner
    7. Marvin G. Warner
    8. Glen E. Fryxell
    9. Robert J. Wiacek
    10. Charles Timchalk
    11. R. Shane Addleman