Margaret Billingsley, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering
About
As part of the NanoSTAR Institute and University of Virginia School of Medicine, the Billingsley Lab explores the interface of biomaterials, nanotechnology, and clinical cancer research. Working with the Manning Institute of Biotechnology and the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center, our team develops translatable nanoparticle platforms for precise drug delivery and immune cell engineering to improve therapies for sex-specific diseases including gynecological cancers.
Education
Ph.D., Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pennsylvania
B.S., Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering, University of Delaware
Research Interests
Targeted drug delivery
Immune cell engineering
Biomaterials
Cancer immunotherapy
Selected Publications
Orthogonal Design of Experiments for Optimization of Lipid Nanoparticles for mRNA Engineering of CAR T Cells. Nano Lett. 2021 Oct 20;22(1):533–542
Margaret M Billingsley, Alex G Hamilton, David Mai, Savan K Patel, Kelsey L Swingle, Neil C Sheppard, Carl H June, Michael J Mitchell
In vivo mRNA CAR T cell engineering via targeted ionizable lipid nanoparticles with extrahepatic tropism. Small Volume20, Issue11 March 15, 2024
Margaret M Billingsley, Ningqiang Gong, Alvin J Mukalel, Ajay S Thatte, Rakan El‐Mayta, Savan K Patel, Ann E Metzloff, Kelsey L Swingle, Xuexiang Han, Lulu Xue, Alex G Hamilton, Hannah C Safford, Mohamad‐Gabriel Alameh, Tyler E Papp, Hamideh Parhiz, Drew
Surface Avidity of Anionic Polypeptide Coatings on Layer-by-Layer Nanoparticles Target Cancer-Associated Amino Acid Transporters.Angewandte Chemie 22 December 2025
Dr. Ivan S. Pires, Dr. Margaret M. Billingsley, Ezra Gordon, Dr. Andrew J. Pickering, Eva Cai, Gonzalo J. Esparza, Mae L. Pryor, Alexander D. Stoneman, Aidan Kindopp, Prof. Darrell J. Irvine, Prof. Paula T. Hammond
IL-12-releasing nanoparticles for effective immunotherapy of metastatic ovarian cancer. Nature Materials volume 25, pages 322–334 (2026)
Ivan S. Pires, Gil Covarrubias, Victoria F. Gomerdinger, Coralie Backlund, Eduardo Nombera Bueno, Margaret M. Billingsley, Mae Pryor, Apoorv Shanker, Ezra Gordon, Shengwei Wu, Andrew J. Pickering, Mariane Melo, Heikyung Suh, Darrell Irvine, Paula Hammond
Courses Taught
BME 3240
Biotransport