Dr. Muna Aryal joined LUC Engineering as an Assistant Professor in August, 2021. She has ten years of research experience in Biomedical Engineering within an academic setting. Her expertise is in non-invasive and targeted brain drug delivery using low-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound and biocompatible, biodegradable nanoparticles. She discovered two ways of using these drug delivery technologies for brain cancer treatment, neuromodulation, glymphatic manipulation, and molecular imaging.

Dr. Aryal holds a joint appointment with Stritch School of Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, Division of Medical Physics, at the Health Science Campus, where she is establishing a research program centered on non-invasive and targeted brain drug delivery technologies for neurological diseases and disorder’s treatment. The Aryal Lab’s mission is to advance drug delivery technologies to provide the best personalized treatment for brain cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, while better understanding the therapeutics interaction at different levels, i.e., molecular, cellular, neuronal, and a whole neuroimmune system. While moving towards her aims, Dr. Aryal was recently awarded the prestigious “Healthy Longevity Global Competition Catalyst Award” by the National Academy of Medicine. With the award, Dr. Aryal is collaborating with Dr. Tyrone Porter in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Texas Austin. The two hope to develop novel imaging and therapy strategies to combat aging-related brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer in a minimally invasive and potent manner. It is expected that this work will lead to the development of innovative imaging and therapy strategies that will increase the quality of life and will extend the lifespan of neurological populations. More detail about the award can be found here: Healthy Longevity Challenge