Gaurav Sahay
Research/Career Interests
Dr. Gaurav Sahay is a Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and co-Director of the Center for Innovative Drug Delivery and Imaging (CIDDI) at Oregon State University’s College of Pharmacy. His pioneering research focuses on developing advanced nanotechnology platforms, particularly lipid-based nanoparticles, to enhance the delivery of messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics for targeted treatments of diseases such as cystic fibrosis, retinal degeneration, and cancer. His work plays a crucial role in advancing our understanding of intracellular transport mechanisms essential for the effective delivery of nucleic acids to the cytosol. Dr. Sahay’s academic contributions are extensive, with 75 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including Science Advances, Nature Communications, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Nanotechnology, and Journal of Controlled Release. He is widely recognized as a leader in the field of drug delivery and nanomedicine. His honors include the 2013 AAPS Postdoctoral Fellow Award, the 2015 CRS T. Nagai Award, the 2016 AACP New Investigator Award, and the 2019 OHSU Distinguished Faculty Senate Award for Collaboration. He was also awarded the 2020 Phi Kappa Phi OSU Emerging Scholar Award and the 2020 CMBE Young Innovator Award, and was inducted as a Fellow of the Controlled Release Society (CRS) in 2024. Dr. Sahay leads multiple research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and various biotech companies, with recent support from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). His work has attracted significant funding—approximately $25 million—through a mix of federal grants, nonprofit foundations, and private sector partners like Novo Nordisk. He also serves as a consultant and scientific advisor to several biotech companies and venture capital firms, further expanding his impact on the biotech ecosystem. In addition to his research, Dr. Sahay is deeply committed to education and mentorship, teaching PharmD and PhD students and developing online courses through OSU's eCampus. He chaired the NanoMedicine and Drug Delivery Symposium (NanoDDS) in 2018, Gene Delivery and Editing Focus Group at CRS and is part of AI@OSU advisory board and is a standing member of NIH’s Innovative NanoSystems and Nanotechnology study section. Dr. Sahay is also engaged in entrepreneurial ventures, having co-founded Enterx Bio and served as an advisor to Rare Air Inc., two Oregon-based companies that have successfully raised venture and SBIR funding and created biotech jobs in the region.
Career Links
2730 S. Moody Avenue
RLSB 3N034
97301 OR
United States
Sahay lab is developing state of the art lipid-based nanoparticles for effective delivery of mRNA based vaccines and therapeutics. We design, characterize, and formulate nanoparticles and study their intracellular delivery mechanisms. Currently, our lipid nanoparticles are deployed to deliver genes/genome editors for the treatment of CF, retinal degeneration and COVID-19.