Title

Marian Ackun-Farmmer

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Photo of Marian Ackun Farmmer
Title/Position
Assistant Professor
Areas of Research

Areas of Research

Immunoengineering , Biomaterials & Regenerative Technologies, Cancer Technologies
Contact

Contact

EBB 4015Georgia Tech
mackunfarmmer3@gatech.edu
(404) 894-2000
Ackun-Farmmer Lab
Education

Education

  • B.S. Biomedical Engineering, George Washington University
  • M.S. Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester
  • Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, University of Rochester
Research Interests

Research Interests

The goal of the lab is to develop selective drug delivery systems to modulate innate and adaptive immunity. Strategies to achieve these goals are derived from the rational design of polymer-based materials and self-assembled complexes. We expand upon these materials using covalent and non-covalent modification strategies. Students will gain expertise in materials synthesis and characterization. The materials developed in the lab are tested using cell culture and preclinical autoimmune and cancer models. Mechanistic studies will be used as a feedback loop to redesign the materials as needed.

 

Teaching Interests

Teaching Interests

Dr. Ackun-Farmmer teaches cellular physiology at the undergraduate level. She also mentors undergraduate and graduate students in her lab.
Publications

Publications

Local control of T cell fate in lymph nodes safely and durably reverses myelin-…
S.M. Kapnick, E.A. Gosselin, S.J. Tsai, R.S. Oakes, Z.A. Habibabady, M.A. Ackun-Farmmer, S.T. Carey, S.A. Shah, R. Shen, E. Froimchuk, H.B. Eppler, C.J. Bridgeman, A.A. Yanes, R.A. McIlvaine, M. Noshin, L.H. Tostanoski, S.K. Black, X. Zeng, A. Azimzadeh, [...] & C.M. Jewell, Local control of T cell fate in lymph nodes safely and durably reverses myelin-driven autoimmunity, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (45) e2409563122,
Immune constructs alter antigen-specific immune tolerance and confer durable pr…
Ackun-Farmmer, MA, Shirkey, M.W., Oakes, R.S., Kapnick, S.M., Carey, S., Yanes, A., Bromberg, J.S.,
Jewell, C.M. (2024). Immune constructs alter antigen-specific immune tolerance and confer durable protection in myelin-driven autoimmunity. ACS Nano. 18 (46), 31780-3179. DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.4c06667.
Ligand Density Controls C-Type Lectin-Like Molecule-1 Receptor–Specific Uptake …
Ackun-Farmmer MA, Alatise KL, Cross G, Benoit DSW. (2020). Ligand Density Controls C-Type Lectin-Like Molecule-1 Receptor-Specific Uptake of Polymer Nanoparticles. Advanced Biosystems. DOI:
10.1002/adbi.202000172. PubMed PMID: 33073549.
Macrophage depletion increases target specificity of bone-targeted nanoparticles
Ackun-Farmmer MA, Xiao B, Newman MR, Benoit DSW. (2021). Macrophage depletion increases target
specificity of bone-targeted nanoparticles. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A. 110(1):229-
238. DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.37279.
Reduction of leukemic burden via bone-targeted nanoparticle delivery of an inhi…
Ackun-Farmmer MA, Soto CA, Lesch ML, Byun D, Yang L, Calvi LM, Benoit DSW, and Frisch BJ, (2021).
Reduction of leukemic burden via bone-targeted nanoparticle delivery of an inhibitor of C-chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 3 (CCL3) signaling. The FASEB Journal, 35(4): p. e21402. DOI: 10.1096/fj.202000938RR.
Ackun-Farmmer MA., Alwaseem H., Counts M., Bortz A., Giovani S., Frisch B.J., Fasan R. and Benoit D.S.W. (2021). Nanoparticle-Mediated Delivery of Micheliolide Analogs to Eliminate Leukemic Stem Cells in the Bone Marrow. Advanced Therapeutics. DOI: 10.1002/adtp.202100100. Cover Feature
Gammon JM, Carey ST, Saxena V, Eppler HB, Tsai SJ, Paluskievicz C, Xiong Y, Li L, Ackun-Farmmer M,
Tostanoski LH, Gosselin EA, Yanes AA, Zeng X, Oakes RS, Bromberg JS, Jewell CM. (2023). Engineering
the lymph node environment promotes antigen-specific efficacy in type 1 diabetes and islet transplantation. Nature Communications.14(1).
Ackun-Farmmer MA and Jewell, C.M., (2023). Delivery Route Considerations for Designing Antigen-Specific Biomaterial Strategies to Combat Autoimmunity. Advanced NanoBiomed Research. 2200135. DOI: 10.1002/anbr.202200135.
Bridgeman C, Shen R, Mcllviane R, Edwards C, Ackun-Farmmer MA, Jewell CM., (2024). Synthetic Organic Materials for Targeting Immunotherapies to Lymph Nodes. Chemistry of Materials. 36 (19), 9031-9045. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.4c00947
Ackun-Farmmer M, Jewell CM. (2023) Enhancing the functionality of self-assembled immune signals using chemical crosslinks. Front Immunol. 14:1079910.
Xiao B, Ackun-Farmmer M.A., Adjei-Sowah E, Liu Y, Chandrasiri I, Benoit DSW. (2024). Advancing Bone-
Targeted Drug Delivery: Leveraging Biological Factors and Nanoparticle Designs to Improve Therapeutic
Efficacy. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.3c01022.