Camila Vásquez Vidal

Camila Vásquez Vidal

Biography

Camila Vasquez Vidal is a rising sophmore majoring in Biology at the University of PuertoRico at Río Piedras. Born in El Salvador’s capital, she moved to Puerto Rico due to the country’s instability. Her resilience, creativity, and curiosity sparked an early interest in art, nature, and science. Education was central in her family, making academic achievement both a privilege and a responsibility. A pre-college neuroscience program at MIT introduced her to scientific research and proved transformative—especially as she met scientists who shared similar life experiences.In high school, she conducted a case study on circular migration’s impact on Type 2 Diabetes patients. As a freshman, she connected her Salvadoran roots with Puerto Rican culture through a project estimating the magnitude of El Salvador’s 1917 earthquake using methods developed for Puerto Rico’s 1918 earthquake. Camila enjoys creating art and caring for animals in her free time.She is currently interning in the Hammond Lab at MIT’s Koch Institute, where she is optimizing lipid nanoparticles for targeted mRNA delivery.

Abstract

Optimizing Layered Lipid Nanoparticle Production for Targeted mRNA Delivery in Ovarian and Brain Cancer

Cancer remains a leading global cause of death, and standard therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation often lack specificity, leading to harmful systemic side effects. Layered lipid nanoparticles (LLNPs) are targeted drug delivery systems composed of mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) surrounded by a polyanion layer. This added layer imparts a negatively charged surface which can help reduce off-target toxicity and improve cancer treatment outcomes. LLNP development is hindered by slow, low-throughput synthesis and optimization processes. To address this challenge, this research focuses on developing a high-throughput experimental LLNP screening framework, enabling rapid iteration and evaluation of nanoparticle formulations. Key process variables — such as polymer type, buffer concentration, buffer type, and polymer-to-particle ratios — were systematically varied. Nanoparticles were characterized for size, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro transfection efficiency in ovarian cancer cells. Preliminary results showed that buffer concentrations and polymer-to-particle weight ratios are the most crucial steps to tune, in order to maximize transfection efficiency. The final high-throughput protocol was then used to screen various polyanions (poly-L-glutamate, poly-L-aspartate, and hyaluronic acid) in ovarian and brain cancer cells. These findings work towards a scalable strategy for LLNP development, with potential to accelerate the design of more effective, personalized cancer therapeutics.