Research & Academia

This is the second article in LuTra Studio’s ADC series, written for readers without prior ADC expertise who want to understand ADC evolution—specifically, why antibody–drug conjugates experienced widespread failures in the 2000s but emerged as one of the most important oncology platforms after 2020. Rather than starting with definitions, this article traces the historical failures, engineering corrections, and strategic shifts that shaped modern ADC development across differ

Introduction In the journey of cross-disciplinary learning, molecular biology is often the first real wall for anyone without a formal biology background . For those of us trained in engineering, the difficulty is rarely a lack of effort. Instead, it usually comes from three recurring challenges: Too many new terms and relationships appearing all at once Uncertainty about which concepts are essential and which can be temporarily set aside Learning ideas without knowing how th

This long-form article is written for readers without prior ADC expertise who want to understand why antibody–drug conjugates have become one of the most important oncology drug platforms of the 2020s. Starting from first principles, it gradually builds toward engineering trade-offs and industry strategy. Executive Summary Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are designed to deliver extremely potent drugs directly into cancer cells using antibodies as targeting vehicles. ADC suc

Introduction: Why Cancer Vaccines Are Back in Focus For decades, the concept of a cancer vaccine occupied an uncertain space in oncology. Early therapeutic cancer vaccine efforts frequently failed to demonstrate meaningful clinical benefit, leading to skepticism about whether the immune system could be reliably trained to recognize and eliminate tumors (1). This perception has shifted dramatically in recent years. Advances in tumor genomics, neoantigen discovery, and RNA del

Introduction In the world of mRNA therapeutics and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), PEG-lipids have long been treated as a default design choice . They are used to: Provide steric shielding to prevent aggregation Extend circulation time Reduce nonspecific interactions However, as mRNA technologies move beyond one-time vaccines toward repeat-dose systemic therapies , PEG-associated risks—most notably anti-PEG antibodies and the accelerated blood clearance (ABC) phenomenon —are bec

Introduction: The Next Bottleneck for LNPs Is Not Encapsulation — It’s Precision Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have proven their value by enabling the clinical success of mRNA vaccines and multiple nucleic acid therapeutics. However, as therapeutic targets expand beyond the liver to immune cells, the central nervous system, and solid tumors, non-specific biodistribution has emerged as a primary limitation of current LNP platforms . For many LNP-based systems, the key challenge i

Introduction Many engineers share the same anxiety If you come from an engineering background and are exploring biomedicine or life sciences, you may have asked yourself similar questions: Will I ever be “biological” enough? Is my engineering training holding me back? What should I keep, and what should I unlearn? These concerns are common—and valid. Three hidden advantages of an engineering background Through my own transition from engineering into biomedicine and bioinforma

Cross-Disciplinary Learning Is Not Talent: How I Self-Learned My Way from Engineering to Biomedicine and Bioinformatics I didn’t start on the “right” path My academic training began in engineering—chemical engineering and civil engineering. At the time, biology felt distant and abstract. Molecular mechanisms, cellular signaling, and biological data analysis were not part of my formal education. What engineering gave me was not certainty, but a habit of structured thinking: br

Introduction If you are reading this article, congratulations. It likely means you have: completed your applications , written your SOPs and CVs , waited through months of uncertainty, and finally received one or more U.S. graduate school offers . At this stage, many applicants realize something unexpected: Applying was hard—but choosing is often harder. To compare U.S. graduate school offers can be more stressful than the application process itself. This article is meant to

Introduction In U.S. graduate school applications, the Curriculum Vitae (CV) often plays the most important role during the initial screening stage. However, once applications move into deeper review, the document that truly differentiates candidates is the: U.S. graduate school SOP (Statement of Purpose). Because the SOP and cover letter share very similar structure and logic , this article discusses them together and provides a unified framework you can apply to both. If y

Introduction Following the previous articles on application documents (SOP) , school selection , and emailing professors , this article focuses on another critical—but often underestimated—component of U.S. graduate school applications: The U.S. graduate school CV (Curriculum Vitae). Typical U.S. graduate school applications may include: Statement of Purpose (SOP) Curriculum Vitae (CV) (For some programs) Diversity Statement (For some programs) Research Interest or Personal S

Introduction In the previous articles, I discussed how to prepare application documents (SOP and CV) and how to choose a U.S. graduate school . In this article, I focus on one of the most frequently asked—and misunderstood—questions: How should you email professors for U.S. graduate school applications? Whether you are applying for a master’s program, a PhD, or a postdoctoral position, emailing professors for U.S. graduate school is often your first direct academic interacti

Introduction In the previous article, I discussed how to prepare key application documents for U.S. graduate school, including the Statement of Purpose (SOP) and CV . In this article, I want to focus on a question that almost every applicant struggles with: How should I choose a U.S. graduate school PhD program? Choosing a graduate school is similar to choosing a university major in Taiwan: Should you prioritize the school , the program , or the advisor ? This decision often

Introduction In recent years, through Project Tyra , I have had the opportunity to mentor two undergraduate students from Taiwan who were applying to U.S. graduate programs. Throughout this process, one recurring issue became very clear: many strong applicants are not rejected because of weak backgrounds, but because they fail to clearly communicate their strengths through their application materials . This article provides a structured overview of how to prepare application

Introduction Messenger RNA (mRNA) has redefined what is possible in modern medicine. As a therapeutic platform, it enables rapid vaccine development, personalized cancer immunotherapy, and protein replacement strategies for rare diseases. However, behind every successful mRNA therapeutic lies a carefully engineered synthesis process. While clinical outcomes often dominate the conversation around mRNA therapeutics, the quality of mRNA synthesis ultimately determines translatio

Introduction Messenger RNA (mRNA), once a niche topic confined to molecular biology laboratories, has rapidly emerged as one of the most transformative technologies in modern medicine. While the COVID-19 pandemic brought mRNA vaccines into the global spotlight, their success was not an overnight miracle—it was the culmination of decades of foundational research, engineering breakthroughs, and persistent efforts to overcome the inherent fragility of RNA. Today, mRNA therapeuti

Introduction: The Delivery Problem in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Nucleic acid therapeutics—such as mRNA vaccines, siRNA drugs, and CRISPR-based gene editors—have transformed modern medicine. However, the clinical success of these modalities depends not only on the therapeutic payload itself, but critically on how efficiently and selectively it can be delivered in vivo . Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have emerged as the gold-standard platform for systemic nucleic acid delivery. By

Introduction Over the past decade, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have emerged as a cornerstone technology in nucleic acid drug delivery , enabling the clinical success of messenger RNA (mRNA), small interfering RNA (siRNA), and gene-editing modalities such as CRISPR-Cas9. Approved products like Onpattro® (patisiran) and the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have demonstrated that effective delivery—rather than payload design alone—is often the decisive fa

Introduction: When “More Experiments” Is No Longer the Answer In modern scientific research and engineering development, the central challenge is no longer whether to run experiments, but how to extract maximum insight from limited time, resources, and experimental capacity . Across drug development, bioprocess optimization, materials science, and platform R&D, researchers routinely face systems governed by multiple interacting variables. Traditional one-factor-at-a-time (OFA

What engineers can do in biomedical field? Lessons from MIT and Robert Langer Engineers are trained to solve problems using science, mathematics, and systematic thinking. In our daily lives, civil, chemical, electrical, and software engineers continuously improve infrastructure, technology, and productivity. But what can engineers do in medicine? The answer lies in biomedical engineering applications —a field that translates engineering principles into real-world medical solu