Dr. Blanco obtained his BS and MS degrees in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Upon completion of his BS in 2002, Dr. Blanco was the recipient of a National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI) Predoctoral fellowship to fund his predoctoral studies at CWRU. Upon completion of his MS in 2005, Dr. Blanco relocated with his advisor, Prof. Jinming Gao, to the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at UT Southwestern, where he obtained his PhD in biomedical engineering in the fall of 2008. In the summer of 2009, Dr. Blanco pursued his postdoctoral studies in the Department of Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering at UT Health. In 2010, Dr. Blanco accepted a Research Associate position in the Department of Nanomedicine at the Houston Methodist Research Institute (HMRI), where he was promoted to Instructor in 2013 and Assistant Research Professor in 2015. In 2019, he was promoted to Assistant Professor in the Department of Nanomedicine at HMRI. Dr. Blanco holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Cardiology in the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center at the Houston Methodist Hospital (HMH) and is an Associate Research Member in the Developmental Therapeutics Program in the Houston Methodist Cancer Center at HMH. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.

Dr. Blanco is listed as an author on over 58 peer-reviewed articles and as an inventor on a patent. Dr. Blanco has consistently maintained a track record of independent funding from extramural, intramural, and foundation/philanthropic sources. He has received awards from the Society of Biomaterials (SFB) and the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR). He serves on the Editorial Board of AIMS Bioengineering, Nanobiotechnology, part of the journal Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Frontiers in Materials and Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. Lastly, Dr. Blanco is actively involved in trainee mentoring, having served as advisor to research assistants, undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows.

Gherardo Baudo earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Studies of Florence and his master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin. In 2020, he joined Professor Blanco’s laboratory for his PhD in collaboration with University Chinese Academy of Sciences and obtained his PhD in the winter of 2023. His research focuses on mechanisms of mitochondrial function restoration in neurons in Alzheimer’s disease.

Gherardo is a proactive self starter with a proven mechanical & bioengineering track record who is passionate about biomedical research, tissue engineering, and drug delivery.

Gherardo’s motto is: “Curiosity is the key to success”.

Pinar earned her PhD in Medical Biology from Erciyes University and holds a master’s degree in Biotechnology from Yeditepe University. After completing her PhD, she conducted research at MD Anderson Cancer Center, focusing on targeted therapies for aggressive breast cancers. She then joined the Department of Nanomedicine at Houston Methodist Research Institute as a postdoctoral fellow, where she developed RNA-based nanotherapeutics and delivery systems targeting oncogenic pathways, including PIM3 kinase and KRAS.

Currently, she is a postdoctoral fellow in the Blanco Lab, studying mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Her work also focuses on enhancing T cell-based immunotherapy for metastatic breast cancer and exploring mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy to support neural repair and modulate inflammation.

By integrating her expertise across oncology and neuroscience, she aims to identify shared cellular vulnerabilities and develop targeted therapies that restore immune and metabolic balance in chronic diseases.

Outside the lab, Pinar enjoys spending time in nature, particularly through hiking and climbing. She is guided by a clear vision: turning curiosity into discovery, and discovery into hope.

Hyunho obtained his bachelor’s degree in herbal pharmacology from the Mokpo National University in South Korea, and his Ph.D. from the University of Strasbourg in France. During his Ph.D., he studied cardiovascular pharmacology. Currently, he is studying metabolic potentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for regenerative therapies and mitochondrial function as related to cell senescence.