Dr. D’mello received his PhD degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a BPharm from the University of Bombay. He teaches Pharmacokinetics and is the recipient of the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Outstanding Teacher of the Year award, and the USciences Founders Day Faculty Award. D’mello serves on review panels of the NIH R15 and SBIR/STTR programs. He has served as primary supervisor to 13 PhD students and four MS students.
The focus of the laboratory is the fabrication of proteins in polymer matrices as controlled delivery systems. They are interested in understanding the effects of manufacturing variables on protein structure and function and in the development of innovative formulation strategies to minimize adverse effects. They characterize proteins using a variety of techniques including circular dichroism, laser diffraction, enzyme kinetics, western blots, fluorescent microscopy, and protein binding. Their recent project on encapsulating phenylalanine ammonia lyase for the management of phenylketonuria has been patented and funded by an NIH STTR grant to explore its potential for commercialization.
