Bio

B.S. ​Rochester Institute of Technology, 1990Ph.D. ​University of Virginia, 1995

"The Price Laboratory develops image-guided drug and gene delivery approaches for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases."

Dr. Price's research program centers on the development and implementation of image-guided drug and gene delivery systems for treating cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Several lines of investigation in the lab are derived from seminal studies demonstrating that microbubble activation with ultrasound can enable the delivery of therapeutic drug- and gene-bearing nanoparticles across endothelial barriers under MR image-guidance. Other projects in the lab investigate how minimally-invasive focused ultrasound energy deposition into solid tumors may be optimally combined with immunotherapy to treat metastatic disease. Research in this space supports 3 ongoing UVA clinical trials for metastatic breast cancer and other solid malignancies. In his role as Research Director of the UVA Focused Ultrasound Center, he leads an institution-wide effort to identify, investigate, and translate new focused ultrasound applications.

Awards

  • Fellow of the Controlled Release Society 2021
  • Andrew J. Lockhart Memorial Prize for Focused Ultrasound Cancer Research 2017
  • Jorge Heller Award for Most Outstanding Paper in Journal of Controlled Release 2015
  • Fellow of the American Institue of Medical and Biological Engineering 2015

Research Interests

  • Drug and Gene Delivery
  • Medical and Molecular Imaging
  • Biomechanics and Mechanobiology
  • Cardiovascular Engineering

In the News

Selected Publications

  • Sonodynamic Therapy: Rapid Progress and New Opportunities for Non-Invasive Tumor Cell Killing with Sound. Cancer Letters. 532:215592. 2022. Nowak, K.M., M.R Schwartz, V.R Breza, and R.J Price
  • Computational Model of Brain Endothelial Cell Signaling Pathways Predicts Therapeutic Targets for Cerebral Pathologies. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 64:17-28. 2022. Gorick C.M., J.J. Saucerman, and R.J. Price.
  • Ultrasound-Targeted Nucleic Acid Delivery to Solid Tumors. J Cont Rel. DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2021.10.010. 2021 Schwartz, M.R., A.C. Debski and R.J. Price
  • Multiple Regression Analysis of a Comprehensive Transcriptomic Data Assembly Elucidates Mechanically- and Biochemically-Driven Gene Sets in Response to FUB BBB Disruption. Theranostics. DOI: 10.7150/thno.65064. 2021 Mathew, A.S., C.M. Gorick, and R.J. Price
  • Functional Intersections Between Extracellular Vesicles and Oncolytic Therapies. Trends Pharmacol Sci. DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2021.09.001. 2021 Clark, R.A., Z.G. Garman, R.J. Price, and N.D. Sheybani
  • ImmunoPET-Informed Sequence for Focused Ultrasound-Targeted mCD47 Blockade Controls Glioma. J Control Rel. DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2021.01.023. 2021. Sheybani, N.D., V.R. Breza, S. Paul, K.S. McCauley, S.S. Berr, G.W. Miller, K.D. Neumann, and R.J. Price
  • Sonoselective Transfection of Cerebral Vasculature Without Blood–Brain Barrier Disruption. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1914595117. 2020. Gorick, C.M., A.S. Mathew, W.J. Garrison, E.A. Thim, D.G. Fisher, C.A. Copeland, J. Song, A.L. Klibanov, G.W. Miller, and R.J. Price
  • Transcriptomic Response of Brain Tissue to Focused Ultrasound-Mediated Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption Depends Strongly on Anesthesia. Bioengineering & Transla Med. DOI: 10.1002/btm2.10198. 2020 Mathew, A.S., C.M. Gorick, E.A. Thim, W.J. Garrison, A.L. Klibanov, G.W. Miller, N.D. Sheybani, and R.J. Price
  • Augmentation of Brain Tumor Interstitial Flow via Focused Ultrasound Promotes Brain-Penetrating Nanoparticle Dispersion and Transfection. Science Advances. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aay1344. 2020. Curley, C.T., B.P. Mead, K. Negron, N. Kim, W.J. Garrison, E.A. Thim, K.M. Kingsmore, J.M. Munson, G.W. Miller, A.L.Klibanov, J.S. Suk, J. Hanes, and R.J. Price
  • Focused Ultrasound Hyperthermia Augments Release of Glioma-Derived Extracellular Vesicles with Differential Immunomodulatory Capacity. Theranostics. 10(16):7436-7447. 2020. Sheybani, N.D., A.J. Batts, A.S. Mathew, E.A. Thim, and R.J. Price
  • Focused Ultrasound Thermal Ablation in Combination with Gemcitabine Promotes Immunological Control of Breast Cancer. J Immunother Cancer. 8:e001008. 2020. Sheybani, N.D., A.R. Witter, E.A. Thim, T.N.J. Bullock, and R.J. Price
  • Immunomodulation of Intracranial Melanoma in Response to Blood-Tumor Barrier Opening with Focused Ultrasound. Theranostics. 10:8821-8833. 2020. Curley, C.T., A.D. Stevens, A.S. Mathew, K. Stasiak, W.J. Garrison, G.W. Miller, N.D. Sheybani, V.H. Engelhard, T.N.J. Bullock, and R.J. Price
  • Focused Ultrasound Pre-Conditioning for Augmented Nanoparticle Penetration and Efficacy in the Central Nervous System. Small. DOI: 10.1002/smll.201903460. 2019. Mead, B.P., C.T. Curley, N. Kim, K. Negron, W.J. Garrison, J. Song, D. Rao, G. Wilson Miller, J.W. Mandell, B.J. Purow, J.S. Suk, J. Hanes, and R.J. Price
  • Perspectives on Recent Progress in Focused Ultrasound Immunotherapy. Theranostics. DOI:10.7150/thno.37131. 2019. Sheybani, N.D. and R.J. Price
  • Parkinson's Disease Gene Therapy: Will Focused Ultrasound and Nanovectors be the Next Frontier? Movement Disorders. doi: 10.1002/mds.27675. 2019. Price R.J., D.G. Fisher, J.S. Suk, J. Hanes, H.S. Ko, J.H. Kordower
  • Epigenetic Regulators of the Revascularization Response to Chronic Arterial Occlusion.Cardiovascular Research. 115:701-712. 2019. Heuslein J.L., C.M.Gorick, R.J. Price
  • ​Recent Advances in the Use of Focused Ultrasound for MR Image-Guided Nanoparticle Delivery to the Central Nervous System. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 10:1348. 2019. Fisher, D.G., and R.J. Price
  • Exposure of Endothelium to Biomimetic Flow Waveforms Yields Identification of miR-199a as a Potent Regulator of Arteriogenesis. Molecular Therapy: Nucleic Acids. 12:829-844. 2018. Heuslein, J.L., C.M. Gorick, S.P. McDonnell, J. Song, B.H. Annex, and R.J. Price
  • Novel focused ultrasound gene therapy approach non-invasively restores dopaminergic neuron function in a rat Parkinson’s disease model. Nano Lett. 17:3533-3542; 2017. Mead, B.P., N. Kim, G.W. Miller, D. Hodges, P. Mastorakos, A.L. Klibanov, J.W. Mandell, J. Hirsh, J.S. Suk, J. Hanes, R.J. Price
  • MR Image-Guided Delivery of Cisplatin-Loaded Brain-Penetrating Nanoparticles to Invasive Glioma with Focused Ultrasound. J Control Release. 263:120-131; 2017. Timbie, K.F., U. Afzal, A. Date, C. Zhang, J. Song, G.W. Miller, J.S. Suk, J. Hanes, and R.J. Price
  • Focused Ultrasound Immunotherapy for Central Nervous System Pathologies: Challenges and Opportunities. Theranostics. doi:10.7150/thno.21225. 2017. Curley, C.T., N.D. Sheybani, T.N. Bullock, and R.J. Price
  • DNA Methyltransferase 1–Dependent DNA Hypermethylation Constrains Arteriogenesis by Augmenting Shear Stress Set Point. J Am Heart Assoc. 6:e007673. 2017. Heuslein, J.L., C.M. Gorick, J. Song, and R.J. Price
  • Targeted Gene Transfer to the Brain via the Delivery of Brain-Penetrating DNA Nanoparticles with Focused Ultrasound. J Control Rel. 223: 109-117. 2016. Mead, B.P., P. Mastorakos, J.S. Suk, A.L. Klibanov, J. Hanes, and R.J. Price.
  • Mechanisms of Amplified Arteriogenesis in Collateral Artery Segments Exposed to Reversed Flow Direction. Arterioscler Thromb & Vasc Biol. 35: 2354-2365. 2015. Heuslein, J.L., J.K. Meisner, R. J. Leiphart, X. Li, J. Song, H. Vincentelli, E.G. Ames, B.R. Blackman, and R.J. Price.
  • Noninvasive Delivery of Stealth Brain Penetrating Nanoparticles Across the Blood-Brain Barrier with MR Image-Guided Focused Ultrasound. J Control Rel. 189:123-132. 2014. E. Nance, K.F. Timbie, G.W. Miller, J. Song, C. Louttit, A.L. Klibanov, T-Y Shih, G. Swaminathan, G. Woodworth, J. Hanes and R.J. Price.
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Courses Taught

  • BME 2220 Biomechanics
  • BME 2102 Physiology II