Hagar Labouta

MSc, PhD

Scientist, Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science

Research Programs

Biography

Dr. Hagar Labouta is a Scientist at Keenan Research Center for Biomedical Science and an Assistant Professor at University of Toronto at both Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and Institute of Biomedical Engineering. She is expert in nanomedicine, drug delivery, and biomedical engineering. Before joining the University of Toronto, she was an Assistant Professor at the College of Pharmacy, University of Manitoba. She got her Ph.D. in pharmaceutical nanotechnology from Saarland University (Germany). She completed several Postdoctoral fellowships at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (Germany), and the Departments of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering, University of Calgary (Canada).

Dr. Labouta leads a unique research program that utilizes cutting-edge nanotechnologies, microfluidics and organ-on-a-chip technologies to design and evaluate nanoparticles (NPs) to breach biological barriers and enable site-specific delivery. She has successfully attracted funding from national and international agencies and has a strong publication record. She is a co-inventor on an international patent for the development of nanosystems for intracellular targeting. She has won several awards and fellowships including the CRS member of the year award from the Controlled Release Society, Interstellar Award from New York Academy of Sciences, Innovation and Career Development Award by the Biomedical Engineering Society, Apotheker Jacob Prize for the best PhD thesis in pharmaceutical sciences in Germany, and curriculum award for the Nanoscience Minor Program from Taylor Institute in Canada. She serves as an Associate Editor in the Drug Delivery and Translational Research (DDTR) and is on the editorial board of Journal of Controlled Release. She has served on several grant panels in Canada and otherwise. She was an invited speaker, including as a keynote speaker, at several conferences in the USA, Australia, Canada, etc. She has established important collaborations in Canada and globally.

Recent Publications

  1. Abdelkader, Y, Perez-Davalos, L, LeDuc, R, Zahedi, RP, Labouta, HI. Omics approaches for the assessment of biological responses to nanoparticles. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2023;200 :114992. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2023.114992. PubMed PMID:37414362 .
  2. Abdelkarim, M, Perez-Davalos, L, Abdelkader, Y, Abostait, A, Labouta, HI. Critical design parameters to develop biomimetic organ-on-a-chip models for the evaluation of the safety and efficacy of nanoparticles. Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2023;20 (1):13-30. doi: 10.1080/17425247.2023.2152000. PubMed PMID:36440475 .
  3. Abostait, A, Tyrrell, J, Abdelkarim, M, Shojaei, S, Tse, WH, El-Sherbiny, IM et al.. Placental Nanoparticle Uptake-On-a-Chip: The Impact of Trophoblast Syncytialization and Shear Stress. Mol Pharm. 2022;19 (11):3757-3769. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.2c00216. PubMed PMID:36053057 .
  4. Tse, WH, Higgins, S, Patel, D, Xing, M, West, AR, Labouta, HI et al.. The maternal-fetal transfer of passive immunity as a mechanism of transplacental nanoparticle drug delivery for prenatal therapies. Biomater Sci. 2022;10 (18):5243-5253. doi: 10.1039/d2bm00293k. PubMed PMID:35912636 .
  5. Pierdoná, TM, Martin, A, Obi, PO, Seif, S, Bydak, B, Labouta, HI et al.. Extracellular Vesicles as Predictors of Individual Response to Exercise Training in Youth Living with Obesity. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2022;27 (5):143. doi: 10.31083/j.fbl2705143. PubMed PMID:35638410 .
  6. Bydak, B, Pierdoná, TM, Seif, S, Sidhom, K, Obi, PO, Labouta, HI et al.. Characterizing Extracellular Vesicles and Particles Derived from Skeletal Muscle Myoblasts and Myotubes and the Effect of Acute Contractile Activity. Membranes (Basel). 2022;12 (5):. doi: 10.3390/membranes12050464. PubMed PMID:35629791 PubMed Central PMC9144336.
  7. Labouta, HI, Langer, R, Cullis, PR, Merkel, OM, Prausnitz, MR, Gomaa, Y et al.. Role of drug delivery technologies in the success of COVID-19 vaccines: a perspective. Drug Deliv Transl Res. 2022;12 (11):2581-2588. doi: 10.1007/s13346-022-01146-1. PubMed PMID:35290656 PubMed Central PMC8923087.
  8. Upreti, T, Wolfe, KM, Van Bavel, N, Anikovskiy, M, Labouta, HI. Collagen - a newly discovered major player in protein corona formation on nanoparticles. Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2022;24 (9):5610-5617. doi: 10.1039/d1cp03968g. PubMed PMID:35175258 .
  9. Ali, MS, Hooshmand, N, El-Sayed, M, Labouta, HI. Microfluidics for Development of Lipid Nanoparticles: Paving the Way for Nucleic Acids to the Clinic. ACS Appl Bio Mater. 2023;6 (9):3566-3576. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.1c00732. PubMed PMID:35014835 .
  10. Shojaei, S, Ali, MS, Suresh, M, Upreti, T, Mogourian, V, Helewa, M et al.. Dynamic placenta-on-a-chip model for fetal risk assessment of nanoparticles intended to treat pregnancy-associated diseases. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2021;1867 (7):166131. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2021.166131. PubMed PMID:33766738 .
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Assistant Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto
  • Assistant Professor, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto