Daniel S. Kohane, MD, PhD

Research Overview:

The unifying theme in our research is drug delivery and biomaterials. In this multidisciplinary field, the specific application is less important than the development of an approach or set of approaches. The skilled practitioner applies engineering principles, biology, and knowledge of biomaterials to achieve a given goal. While addressing specific disease states is important, the thrust of research is to create methods by which drugs can be delivered to a range of sites in a variety of circumstances, or by which materials can be developed or adapted for biomedical uses.

About Dr. Daniel S. Kohane:

Dr. Daniel S. Kohane obtained his MD and a PhD in Physiology from Boston University. He subsequently completed residencies in Pediatrics (Boston Children's Hospital) and Anesthesiology (Massachusetts general Hospital), followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care (Boston Children's Hospital). He is currently a Senior Associate in Pediatric Critical Care at Boston Children's Hospital at Harvard Medical School, where he directs the Laboratory for Biomaterials and Drug Delivery. He is also a senior associate in the laboratory of Prof. Robert Langer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Selected Publications:

1. Kohane DS, Ingelfinger J. Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Case 16-2005. A nine-year-old girl with headaches and hypertension. N Engl J Med 2005; 352: 2223-31.
2. Ciolino JB, Hoare TR, Iwata NG, Behlau I, Dohlman CH, Langer R, Kohane DS: A drug-eluting contact lens. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2009; 50: 3346-42
3. Epstein-Barash H, Shichor I, Kwon AH, Hall S, Lawlor MW, Langer R, Kohane DS: Prolonged duration local anesthesia with minimal toxicity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2009; 106: 7125-30
4. Hoare T, Santamaria J, Goya GF, Irusta S, Lin D, Lau S, Padera R, Langer R, Kohane DS: A magnetically triggered composite membrane for on-demand drug delivery. Nano Letters 2009; 9: 3651-7
5. Dvir T, Banghart MR, Timko BP, Langer R, Kohane DS: Photo-targeted nanoparticles. Nano Letters 2010; 10: 250-4
6. Timko B, Dvir T, Kohane DS: Externally-triggerable drug delivery systems. Adv Mater 2010; 22: 4925-4943
7. Sagie I, Kohane DS: Prolonged sensory-selective nerve blockade. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2010; 106: 7125-30
8. Hoare T, Timko BP, Santamaria J, Goya GF, Irusta S, Lau S, Stefanescu CF, Lin D, Langer R, Kohane DS: Magnetically-triggered nanocomposite membranes: a versatile platform for triggered drug release. Nano Letters 2011; 11: 1395-400
9. Mizrahi B, Irusta S, McKenna M, Stefanescu C, Yedidsion L, Myint M, Langer R, Kohane DS: Microgels for efficient protein purification. Adv Mater 2011; 23: H2258-62
10. Vis Sci 2011; 52: 7392-7399
    Dvir T, Timko B, Brigham MD, Naik SR, Karajanagi SS, Levy O, Jin H, Parker KK, Langer R, Kohane DS: Nanowired three dimensional cardiac patches. Nat Nanotechnol 2011; 6: 720-5
11. Dvir T, Timko BP, Kohane DS, Langer R: Nanotechnological strategies for engineering complex tissues. Nat Nanotechnol 2011; 6: 13-22
12. Dvir T, Bauer M, Schroeder A, Tsui J, Anderson DG, Langer R, Liao R, Kohane DS: Nanoparticles targeting the infarcted heart. Nano Letters 2011; 11: 4411-4
13. Tian B, Liu J, Dvir T, Jin L, Tsui JH, Qing Q, Suo Z, Langer R, Kohane DS*, Lieber CM*: Macroporous nanowire nanoelectronic scaffolds for synthetic tissues. Nature Materials 2012; 11: 986–994
14. Cohen-Karni T, Jeong KJ, Tsui J, Reznor G, Mustata M, Wanunu M, Graham A, Marks C, Bell D, Langer R, Kohane DS: Nanocomposite gold-silk nanofibers. Nano Letters 2012; 12(10): 5403–5406
15. Tong R, Hemmatti HD, Langer R, Kohane DS: Photoswitchable nanoparticles for triggered tissue penetration and drug delivery. J Amer Chemical Soc 2012; 134: 8848-55
16. Shankarappa, S. A.; Tsui, J. H.; Kim, K. N.; Reznor, G.; Dohlman, J. C.; Langer, R.; Kohane, D. S. Prolonged Nerve Blockade Delays the Onset of Neuropathic Pain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2012; 109: 17555–17560
17. Weldon CB, Tsui JH, Shankarappa SA, Nguyen VT, Ma M, Anderson DG, Kohane DS: Electrospun drug-eluting sutures for local anesthesia. J Control Release 2012; 1661: 903-9
18. Mizrahi B, Shankarappa SA, Hickey J, Dohlman J, Timko BP, Whitehead KA, Lee JJ, Langer R, Anderson DG, Kohane DS: A stiff injectable biodegradable elastomer. Adv Func Mater 2012; (in press)
19. Khoo X, Simons EJ, Chiang HH, Hickey JM, Sabharwal V, Pelton SI, Rosowski JJ, Langer R, Kohane DS. Formulations for trans-tympanic antibiotic delivery. Biomaterials 2012; (in press)
20. Hashimoto M, Langer R, Kohane DS: Benchtop fabrication of microfluidic systems based on curable polymers with improved solvent compatibility. Lab on a Chip 2012; (in press)

Focus of Research:

Our research focuses on a wide range of medical problems including pain, peritoneal and other adhesions, surgical glues, vaccine vehicles, intracranial drug delivery, intra-articular drug delivery, patient-controlled drug delivery systems, antifungal surfaces, intracellular delivery of enzymes, ocular and trans-tympanic drug delivery, corneal prostheses, and others. We have employed microparticles and nanoparticles, including polymer systems, liposomes, mesoporous silicates, and others; hydrogels; and combination systems. Other interests include microfluidics, tissue engineering, and surface modification. We have applied our approach in food, beverage, and agricultural research as well.

Translational Research:

Most of our research is very oriented toward clinical application.