Dr. MacKay received his SB in chemical engineering and biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999. A Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellow, he completed his PhD at the University of California at San Francisco and Berkeley in the joint graduate group in Bioengineering in 2005. As a Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. MacKay studied at Duke University in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. In 2008 Dr. MacKay joined the faculty at the University of Southern California. Dr. MacKay is a full member of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has authored over 49 peer-reviewed publications. His work is and has been supported by the US Army, NIH/NIGMS, NIH/NIBIB, NIH/NEI, StopCancer, USC Ming Hsieh Institute, and the USC Whittier Foundation. His group explores biomolecular engineering and nanomedicine. At the USC School of Pharmacy, Dr. MacKay has deep expertise teaching drug delivery, nanoscience, and pharmacokinetics.

My research interests revolve around developing protein-polymer nanoformulations as anti-cancer therapeutics. My dissertation proposal, “Tubulin-based fusion proteins as multifunctional intracellular tools”, has received funding from both the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

My project explores a new method for inducing receptor phase separation with elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) bound to cell-surface receptors. Many cell-surface receptors are activated by lateral phase separation, which drives their downstream activation. This can  be initiated by ligand binding the receptor  yet, in some cases multivalent ligands (nanoparticles or antibodies) can drive superior clustering or activation. We are currently exploring this concept using the CD20 receptor prevalent in lymphoma which is targeted by the monoclonal blockbuster antibody Rituximab.

My project focuses on developing a regulatory chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that targets B-lymphocyte antigen CD19. Often leading to complete remission, CAR T-cell therapy has immense potential to treat leukemia.. However, hyper-activation of anti-CD19 CAR T-cells has caused life-threatening side effects in clinical trials, such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS). One potential resolution to this problem is to develop CARs that switch on and off when necessary. My dissertation project studies elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) that modulate CARs. I utilize molecular biology, protein purification, fluorescence imaging, and other biophysical techniques to study the opportunities for this strategy.

My research explores a new strategy using recombinant elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) to solubilize cyclosporin A (CsA) to improve its safety profile and explore its efficacy in models of autoimmune disease. Despite  CsA’s potency in treating multiple autoimmune diseases,  it has poor solubility, poor bioavailability, and serious adverse side effects, including nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity.

I was born and raised in Hyderabad, India.  I obtained a Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from Birla Institute of Technology and Science-India before joining Dr. MacKay's lab. My research utilizes the cognate drug receptor technology to develop long-acting nano carriers for  hydrophobic anti-cancer drugs like rapamycin.

My project  focuses on using elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) fusion proteins of Caveolin1 and Clathrin light chain to reversibly control endocytosis through temperature-mediated phase separation. I’m particularly interested in applying systems biology and bioinformatic approaches to understand  the effect of endocytosis inhibition and activation on gene expression and cell behavior. Overall, this work may provide the science community with alternative and more precise tools to study cell trafficking, which is a highly significant process in both drug delivery and disease. I also work with my lab mate Zhe Li on a project studying ELP nanoparticle sorting and assembly in zebrafish embryos.

My interests involve the molecular biology of cancer as well as the development and delivery of biologics. I am currently developing and characterizing an estrogen receptor fusion construct that may modulate hormone-independent intracellular signaling.

My project involves using ELPs as intracellular switches for endocytosis. When not in lab, I enjoy crashing RC-planes, bike-riding, and looking for new places to eat around LA. Rumor has it, I can also be found at the Magic Castle eating lots of truffle fries and employing trickery to entertain guests.