Aaron Mohs, Ph.D.

Emory CCNE Distinguished Fellow

Prior to coming to Emory/Georgia Tech, Dr. Mohs received his B.A. in chemistry with a biochemistry concentration from St. John's University (Collegeville, MN) in 2002. At St. John's, he synthesized novel nitrogen-based bidentate ligands for molybdenum complexation. Immediately after he finished his undergraduate studies, he began graduate school at the University of Utah (Salt Lake City), where he received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry in 2006 under the guidance of Zheng-Rong Lu. Dr. Mohs dissertation was entitled, "Biodegradable Macromolecular Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging". In this project he synthesized novel Gd(III)-based blood pool contrast agents for better detection of cancer and cardiovascular disease, yet, unlike other macromolecular contrast agents, these agents are biodegradable via disulfide bonds throughout the polymer backbone resulting in the safe elimination of small Gd(III) complexes after the MRI exam.

Currently his major focus is evaluating the potential toxicity of nanoparticles for biomedical applications. Safety is a major concern for the widespread administration of nanomaterials for in vitro and potentially in vivo applications. Novel nanoparticles will be evaluated by a battery of traditional in vitro assays. It is also of interest to evaluate the safety of the nanoparticles at the genetic level using lower nanoparticle concentrations to identify more subtle changes than morphological alterations or cell death. An in depth study of this nature will (1) highlight the toxicity or lack thereof novel nanoparticles and (2) provide insight for the design of improved nanomaterials. Dr. Mohs would like to pursue other projects as part of this program, such as the development of novel self-assembled biodegradable nanoparticles for the delivery of therapeutic agents.

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