Professional Summary
Dr. Briana Simms is a synthetic polymer chemist who specializes in the design, synthesis, and characterization of novel biomaterials with the goal of addressing challenges related to public health. Currently, she is focused on the development of soft biomaterials such as lipid nanoparticles and hydrogels for applications in therapeutic delivery and wound healing, respectively.
She is an alumna of Xavier University of Louisiana (c'o 2012-- B.S. Biochemistry) and the University of Mississippi (c'o 2016-- Ph.D. in Chemistry). She conducted her post-doctoral training/fellowship at Duke University (2021-2023). She joined the UC community as tenure-track faculty in the Department of Chemistry in the Summer of 2023. She holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
Education
B.S. Biochemistry: Xavier University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA, 2016 (Biochemistry, mathematics, and biology)
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.): University of Mississippi Oxford, MS, 2021 (Organic polymer synthesis & biomaterials)
Research Support
Grant: #Pharma-Simms 01-01-2024 -12-31-2024 PhRMA Foundation Evaluation of Self Assembling dendrimer-lipit nanoparticles as vehicles for targeted drug delivery Role:PI 100000.00