Biography

EDUCATION

UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION:

10/1994-06/1998 University Al.I. Cuza, Iasi, Romania
Department of Chemistry
Degree: B.S.
Thesis: “Modern Methods of Determining Thorium”

GRADUATE EDUCATION

10/1998-06/2000 University Al.I. Cuza, Iasi, Romania
Department of Chemistry
Degree: M.S.
Thesis: “Thiourea and its derivatives”
08/2000-05/2004 University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Department of Chemistry
Degree: M.S.
Non-thesis master
08/2000-12/2005 University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Department of Chemistry
Degree: Ph.D.
Dissertation: “Controlled permeability of phospholipids bilayers and bilayer-templated polymer nanocapsules”
02/2006-Currently Postdoctoral Fellow at
University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX

Current position

02/2006 - present: Postdoctoral fellow working in The Department of Internal Medicine, The Office of Biotechnology at The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston. Selected strengths include liposomes preparation and characterization, immunoliposomes preparation and characterization, polymer nanocapsules synthesis and characterization, organic synthesis.

HONORS AND AWARDS

1994 Undergraduate Student Scholarship in Chemistry, Ministry of Education- Romania
1995 Undergraduate Student Scholarship in Chemistry, Ministry of Education- Romania
1996 Undergraduate Student Scholarship in Chemistry, Ministry of Education- Romania
1997 Undergraduate Student Scholarship in Chemistry, Ministry of Education- Romania
1998 Graduate Student Scholarship in Chemistry, Ministry of Education- Romania
1999 Graduate Student Scholarship in Chemistry, Ministry of Education- Romania
2000 Graduate Student Scholarship in Chemistry, Ministry of Education- Romania
2000 Doctoral Student Assistantship, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
2007 Travel award to the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) Fifth Annual Meeting, March 30 - April 1, UC Berkeley campus, California
2007 Elected member of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Postdoctoral Association
2009 Elected director of the American Chemical Society, Houston Greater Section
2009 Elected Chair, Membership Committee, American Chemical Society, Houston Greater Section

EXPERIENCE

August 2000 – December 2005- Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant
Department of Chemistry, University of Memphis, TN

• Studied the permeability of the phospholipid bilayer membranes of liposomes by the use of carrier molecules;
• Studied the permeability of polymer nanocapsules when using liposomes as a template for their synthesis;
• Characterized the formulations using different analytical techniques;
• Designed and conducted experiments to monitor release of aqueous materials of different sizes from liposomes and from polymer nanocapsules;
• Synthesized a series of carrier molecules for the transport of alanine across bilayer membranes;
• Performed various analytical techniques like UV-VIS, TEM, FTIR, NMR, GC/MS towards achieving the research goals;

Polymer Nanomaterials Fabrication: Prepared liposome-templated polymer nanocapsules by polymerizing monomers that were loaded into the lipid bilayer membrane of liposomes, analyzed the permeability of nanocapsules by dye retention using dyes of different molecular sizes and performed structure characterization of the polymer nanocapsules by TEM analysis.
Organic Synthesis: Synthesized, purified, by column chromatography, and characterized, by NMR spectroscopy, a series of α-aminophosphonate carriers for the transport of alanine across the lipid bilayer membrane of synthetic liposomes. Liposome efflux experiments coupled with an enzymatic assay were used to analyze the transport.

February 2006 – Present- Postdoctoral Fellow
Office of Biotechnology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX
• Fabricated new imaging and drug delivery systems based on targeted nanostructures for cardiovascular disease and cancer using liposomes;
• Characterized the formulations using different analytical techniques;
• Performed encapsulation of various CT contrast agents in liposomes for medical imaging applications;
• Performed ex-vivo studies;

Liposomes Preparation: Prepared liposomes and entrapped materials (enzymes, amino acids, dyes) in their interior using various techniques (extrusion, sonication, reverse-phase evaporation, dehydration-rehydration, solvent vaporization). Size-exclusion chromatography was used to separate the unentrapped materials.
Immunoliposomes Preparation: Attached antibodies to liposomes in order to target them to specific cells.
Liposomes and Immunoliposomes Charactarization: Analyzed liposomes and immunoliposomes by Dinamic Light Scattering (DLS);
Contrast Agents Encapsulated Immunoliposomes: Encapulated contrats agents in the aqueous core of immunoliposomes for the non-invasive medical imaging of vulnerable plaque.
Contrast Agents Encapsulated Immunoliposomes Characterization: Characterized contrast-filled immunoliposomes by DLS, Computed Tomography (CT), and UV analysis;
Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assays (ELISA): The specificity of binding of immunoliposomes to purified proteins and/or activated or non-activated cells was determined by ELISA.
Flow Cytometry: The expression of proteins on the surface of cells as well as the specificity of binding of immunoliposomes to purified proteins and/or activated or non-activated cells was determined by flow cytometry.
Fluorescence Microscopy: The expression of proteins on the surface of cells as well as the specificity of binding of immunoliposomes to purified proteins and/or activated or non-activated cells was determined by fluorescence microscopy.
Cell Culture: Experience with handling (growing, splitting, preparing assays) different cell types like Human Coronary Endothelial Cells, Liver Cells, Kidney Cells, Smooth Muscle Cells, Macrophages, Breast Cancer Cells.

Instruments Experience: UV-VIS Spectrophotometer, NMR Spectrometer, GC/MS, GC,
FT-IR Spectrometer, HPLC, Spectrofluorimeter, TEM, DLS, Flow Cytometer, Tecan, Vi-Cell.

REVIEWER FOR THE FOLLOWING JOURNALS

Biotechnology Progress
The Journal of Organic Chemistry
The Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research

PUBLICATIONS

ARTICLES

1. Delia C. Danila; Xinyan Wang, Heather Hubble; Igor S. Antipin; Eugene Pinkhassik. “Increasing Permeability of Phospholipid Bilayer Membranes to Alanine with Synthetic α-Aminophosphonate Carriers”. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters (18), 2320-2323, 2008

2. Delia C. Danila, L. Todd Banner, Evguenia J. Karimova, Lyudmila Tsurkan, Xinyan Wang, Eugene Pinkhassik. “Directed Assembly of Sub-Nanometer Thin Organic Materials with Programmed-Size Nanopores”. Angew. Chem .Int. Ed., 47, 7036-7039, 2008

3. L. Todd Banner, Delia C. Danila, Katie Sharpe, Melissa Durkin, Behjamin Clayton, Ben Anderson, Andrew Richter, Eugene Pinkhassik. “Controlled Loading of Building Blocks into Temporary Self-Assembly Scaffolds for Directed Assembly of Organic Nanostructures”. Langmuir, 24, 11464-11473, 2008

4. Don B. Elrod, Ranga Partha, Delia Danila, S. Ward Casscells, Jodie L. Conyers. “An Iodinated Liposomal Computed Tomography (CT) Contrast Agent Prepared from a Diiodophosphatidylcholine Lipid”. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine, 5, 42-45, 2009

5. Delia Danila, Don B. Elrod, Ranga Partha, S. Ward Casscells, Jodie L. Conyers. “In Vitro Investigation of an anti-ICAM Antibody-Labeled Liposome Containing Iohexol for Molecular Imaging of Atherosclerotic Plaques via Computed Tomography”. THI Journal, accepted 2009

PUBLISHED ABSTRACTS:

1. Danila, Delia; Wang, Xynian; Pinkhassik Eugene. “Aminophosphonate Carriers for the Transport of Amino Acids across Bilayer Lipid Membranes”. Abstracts of Papers of the American Chemical Society, Vol 224, Pages U132-U132, Part 2, 224th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 18, 2002

2. Banner, L. Todd; Danila, Delia; Durkin, Melissa; Lindner, Erno; Richter, Andrew; Pinkhassik, Eugene. “Functional Characterization of Nanothin Films: Permeability in Nanocapsules and Electrode Coating”. Abstracts of papers, 57th Southeast/61st Southwest Joint Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Memphis, TN, United States, November 1-4, 2005

3. Clayton, Benjamin T.; Danila, Delia; Durkin, Melissa; Banner, L. Todd; Pinkhassik, Eugene. “Nanocapsule Permeability Controlled with Variable n-alkyl Chain Substituted Styrene Derivatives”. Abstracts of papers, 57th Southeast/61st Southwest Joint Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Memphis, TN, United States, November 1-4, 2005

4. Danila, Delia; Tsurkan, Lyudmila; Banner, L. Todd; Clayton, Benjamin T.; Holmes, Natoshia; Pinkhassik, Eugene. “Liposome-Templated Porous Nanocapsules”. Abstracts of papers, 57th Southeast/61st Southwest Joint Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Memphis, TN, United States, November 1-4, 2005

5. Pinkhassik, Eugene; Danila, Delia; Banner, L. Todd; Clayton, Benjamin T. “Nanothin Films with Controlled Permeability for Nanobioreactors and Nanofabricated Sensors”. Abstracts, 57th Southeast/61st Southwest Joint Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Memphis, TN, United States, November 1-4, 2005

6. Delia Danila, Lyudmila Tsurkan, Todd Banner, Benjamin Clayton, Natoshia Holmes, Hugh O’Neil, Barbara Evans, Eugene Pinkhassik. “Nanobioreactors based on porous nanocapsules”. Abstracts of Papers, Pacifichem, Honolulu, December, 2005

7. Delia Danila, Todd Banner, Benjamin Clayton. “Nanothin films with controlled permeability for nanobioreactors and nanofabricated sensors”, Abstracts of Papers, Pacifichem, Honolulu, December, 2005

8. Eugene Pinkhassik; Delia C Danila; L. Todd Banner; Benjamin T Clayton. “Guided Assembly of Polymer Capsules with Selective Nanopores “. Proceedings Published by the American Chemical Society, 2006

9. Hunsaker TL, Pinkhassik E, Danila D. “Foundations of theragnostic nanocapsules”. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 231: 707-CHED MAR 26, 2006

10. Delia Danila; Don B. Elrod; Melinda Lackey; Ranga Partha; S. Ward Casscells; Jodie L. Conyers. “Contrast-Filled Immunoliposomes for the Non-Invasive Identification of Atherosclerotic Plaques via Computed Tomographic (CT) Angiography”. ILS 2006 Meeting, London, 9-12 December, 2006

PRESENTATIONS

1. Poster Presentation: Danila, Delia; Wang, Xynian; Pinkhassik Eugene. “Aminophosphonate Carriers for the Transport of Amino Acids across Bilayer Lipid Membranes.” Abstracts of Papers, 224th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 18-22, 2002
2. Seminar Presentation: Danila, Delia. “Aminophosphonate carriers for the transport of amino acids across bilayer lipid membranes”, Department of Chemistry, The University of Memphis, October 24, 2003
3. Seminar Presentation: Danila, Delia. “Liposome-Templated Polymer Nanocapsules”, Department of Chemistry, The University of Memphis, April 22, 2005
4. Seminar Presentation: Delia Danila. “Controlled Permeability of Phospholipid Bilayers and Bilayer-Templated Polymer Nanocapsules”, School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, October 21, 2005
5. Poster Presentation: Danila, Delia; Tsurkan, Lyudmila; Banner, Todd; Clayton, Benjamin; Holmes, Natoshia; and Pinkhassik, Eugene “Liposome-Templated Polymer Nanocapsules” Abstracts of Papers, 57th Southeast/61st Southwest Regional Meeting, Memphis, November 2005
6. Poster Presentation: Banner, Todd; Danila, Delia; Durkin, Melissa; Lindner, Erno; Richter, Andrew; and Pinkhassik, Eugene “Functional characterization of nanothin films: permeability in nanocapsules and electrode coatings” Abstracts of Papers, 57th Southeast/61st Southwest Regional Meeting, Memphis, November 2005
7. Poster Presentation: Clayton, Benjamin; Danila, Delia; Durkin, Melissa; Banner, Todd; and Pinkhassik, Eugene. “Nanocapsule permeability controlled with variable n-alkyl chain substituted styrene derivatives” Abstracts of Papers, 57th Southeast/61st Southwest Regional Meeting, Memphis, November 2005
8. Eugene Pinkhassik, Delia Danila, L. Todd Banner, Benjamin Clayton. :Nanothin Films with Controlled Permeability for Nanobioreactors and Nanofabricated Sensors”- Oral Presentation, 57th Southeast/61st Southwest Regional Meeting, Memphis, November 2005
9. Poster Presentation: Danila, Delia; Tsurkan, Lyudmila; Banner, Todd; Clayton, Benjamin; Holmes, Natoshia; and Pinkhassik, Eugene “Liposome-Templated Polymer Nanocapsules” Abstracts of Papers, Pacifichem, Honolulu, December 2005
10. Poster Presentation: Delia Danila, Lyudmila Tsurkan, Todd Banner, Benjamin Clayton, Natoshia Holmes, Hugh O’Neil, Barbara Evans, Eugene Pinkhassik “Nanobioreactors based on porous nanocapsules”- Abstracts of Papers, Pacifichem, Honolulu, December 2005
11. Poster Presentation: Eugene Pinkhassik, Delia Danila, Todd Banner, Benjamin Clayton “Nanothin films with controlled permeability for nanobioreactors and nanofabricated sensors”, Abstracts of Papers, Pacifichem, Honolulu, December 2005
12. Poster Presentation: Tamra L. Hunsaker, Eugene Pinkhassik, Delia Danila. “Foundations of Theragnostic Nanocapsules”-231st ACS National Meeting, Atlanta, March 2006.
13. Eugene Pinkhassik; Delia C Danila; L. Todd Banner; Benjamin T Clayton-“Guided Assembly of Polymer Capsules with Selective Nanopores “-Macro 2006 World Polymer Congress, 41st International Symposium on Macromlolecules, Rio de Janeiro, July 2006
14. Eugene Pinkhassik; Delia C Danila; L. Todd Banner; Benjamin T Clayton-“Guided Assembly of Polymer Capsules with Selective Nanopores “-Abstract of papers, 232nd ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006
15. Delia Danila; Don B. Elrod; Melinda Lackey; Ranga Partha; S. Ward Casscells; Jodie L. Conyers- Contrast-Filled Immunoliposomes for the Non-Invasive Identification of Atherosclerotic Plaques via Computed Tomographic (CT) Angiography-ILS 2006 Meeting, London, 9-12 December, 2006
16. Poster Presentation: Don B. Elrod, Ranga Partha, Delia Danila, S. Ward Casscells, Jodie L. Conyers- “Vesicle-Forming Iodine Contrast Agents”-233rd ACS National Meeting, Chicago, March 25-29, 2007
17. Poster Presentation: Delia Danila, PhD; Don B. Elrod, PhD; Melinda Lackey, MS; S. Ward Casscells, MD; Jodie L. Conyers, PhD.-“ Immunoliposomes for Plaque Imaging”-The Best Little NanoConference in Texas, Austin, April 4-5, 2007
18. Poster Presentation: Delia Danila, PhD; Don B. Elrod, PhD; Melinda Lackey, MS; S. Ward Casscells, MD; Jodie L. Conyers, PhD.-“ Immunoliposomes for Plaque Imaging”-University of Texas Health Science Center- Career Day, Houston, October 19, 2007
19. Poster Presentation: Delia Danila; Melinda Lackey, MS; S. Ward Casscells; Jodie L. Conyers- “Contrast-Filled Immunoliposomes-a Valuable Tool for the Non-Invasive Detection of Vulnerable Plaques via CT Angiography”-Nanomedicine and drug delivery symposium, Boston, November 2-3, 2007
20. Poster Presentation: Tata D, Danila D, Ghaghada KB, Conyers J, Annapragada A- “Imaging of macrophage-containing atherosclerotic plaques using liposomal contrast agents”-University of Texas Health Science Center- Research Day, Houston, November 21, 2008

INVITED PRESENTATIONS

1. Fabrication of Phospholipid Bilayer and Polymer Nanocapsules with Controlled Permeability, Purdue University, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, October 21, 2005
2. Controlled Permeability of Phospholipids Bilayer and Bilayer-Templated Polymer Nanocapsules, Amherst College, Department of Biochemistry, November 21, 2005
3. Controlled Permeability of Phospholipids Bilayer and Bilayer-Templated Polymer Nanocapsules, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Department of Internal Medicine, Office of Biotechnology, December 2, 2005

PATENTS

Patent Approved 20080286549:
“Nanothin Polymer Films with Selective Pores and Method of Use Thereof”
Patent Approved:
“Aminophosphonate Carriers for Liposome-Based Drug Release Systems”

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

2000- present Member, American Chemical Society
2000- 2006 Member, The Institute for Nanomaterials Development and Innovation at The University of Memphis (INDIUM)
2006- present Member, Alliance for Nanohealth
2006- present Member, National Postdoctoral Association
2006- present Member Executive Committee, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Postdoctoral Association
2009 Member (Director), American Chemical Society Greater Houston Section
2009 Member, WCC, American Chemical Society Greater Houston Section
2009 Member (Committee Chair), Membership Section, American Chemical Society Greater Houston Section

TEACHING/WORK EXPERIENCE

1. HIGH SCHOOL- high school chemistry teacher (1996 – 2000)

2. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT MENTORING:
2006 Anson Huynh, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
3. UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT MENTORING:
2001 Chelsea Hunter, The University of Memphis, TN, USA
2005 Tamra Hunsaker, The University of Memphis, TN, USA
2005 Suha Dweik, The University of Memphis, TN, USA
2007 Noah Lewellen, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
2008 Michaela Huynh, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

4. GRADUATE STUDENT MENTORING:
2003 Donna Perygin, The University of Memphis, TN, USA
2004 Natoshia Holmes, The University of Memphis, TN, USA
2004 Ben Clayton, The University of Memphis, TN, USA
2005 Adrienne Hoeglund, The University of Memphis, TN, USA

5. GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL CHEMISTRY CLASSES TEACHING:

2000-2004 Performed pre-lab lectures, supervised lab activities, composed and administered exams and quizzes for the following classes: “Organic Chemistry [Chem. 3301]”, “Organic Chemistry [Chem. 3302]”, “General Chemistry [Chem. 1121]”, “Introductory Chemistry [Chem. 1011]”;
Occasional lecturer for the following classes: “Organic Chemistry [Chem. 3311, Chem. 3312]”, “Advanced Organic Chemistry [Chem. 7311/8311]”

TUTORIAL ASSISTANCE

2000-2004 Tutorial assistance of undergraduates in all fields of chemistry (General, Organic, Analytical, Physical)-served as a tutor at the Student Help Center of the Chemistry Department at the University of Memphis

Non-didactic

2000 Research assistant at the “Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry Petru Poni”, Iasi, Romania
2004-2006 Research assistant, The University of Memphis, TN, USA

RELEVANT TRAINING

Animal research training including:
Introduction to Laboratory Animal Science
Practical Methodology – Rabbits, Mice, and Rats
Practical Research Methodology-Rabbits
Aseptic Surgical Techniques – Rodents

Postdoctoral Certificate Training Program including:
Career Development
Responsible Conduct in Research
Advanced Supervised Research

ACADEMIC SERVICE

2000-2005 Safety proctor in the lab
2000-2005 Tutorial assistance of undergraduates in all fields of chemistry
2006-present Editorial service for American Chemical Society journals

RESEARCH GRANT

2007-2008 Co-Investigator: Biotech Seed Grant 2008

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

2001-2003 Treasurer for the Christian Orthodox Student Association, The University of Memphis, TN, USA
2000-2005 Helped set-up two research labs
Fall 2006-Spring 2008 Enrolled in the postdoctoral training certificate program offered by the Postdoctoral Office, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
2007-present Volunteered in organizing events for the Postdoctoral Office, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
2007-present Participate as a leader (executive member) in setting up the University of Texas Health Science Center- Houston Postdoctoral Association
2007-2008 Secretary for the UTH Postdoctoral Association
2007-2008 Participate to events organized by the Younger Chemists Committee of the American Chemistry Society-Greater Houston Section.

Contact Information

• Delia Danila, PhD

• Instructor in Surgery - Research
  The Department of Surgery

• The University of Texas Medical School at Houston

• 6431 Fannin St.
  MSB 5.414
  Houston, Texas 77030

• e-mail: Delia.Danila@uth.tmc.edu