Michael Mitchell

Michael J. Mitchell is an Associate Professor of Bioengineering in the Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he joined as Skirkanich Assistant Professor of Innovation in 2018 and was promoted to his current tenured position in 2023. He leads the Lipid Nanoparticle Delivery Systems Group and serves as Director of the Lipid Nanoparticle Synthesis Core at the Penn Institute for RNA Innovation. Mitchell is also a member of the Abramson Cancer Center, Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, Center for Precision Engineering for Health, Center for Soft and Living Matter, Center for Targeted Therapeutics and Translational Nanomedicine, Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, Penn Cardiovascular Institute, Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders, Penn Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry, Penn Institute for Immunology, and Penn Institute for Regenerative Medicine. His academic background includes a Ph.D. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Cornell University (2014 and 2012), advised by Prof. Michael R. King, and B.E. and M.E. degrees in Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology (2009). Prior to his faculty appointment, he completed an NIH NCI F32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Department of Chemical Engineering (2014–2017), advised by Prof. Robert S. Langer.

Michael J. Mitchell's research specializes in lipid nanoparticle delivery systems for nucleic acids such as mRNA, siRNA, miRNA, and CRISPR-Cas9, with applications in cancer immunotherapy, genome editing, cardiovascular disease, and regenerative medicine. His laboratory engineers novel biomaterials and nanoparticles, employing high-throughput screening to enhance in vivo delivery efficiency and overcome barriers like the blood-brain barrier and placenta. Notable publications include "Engineering precision nanoparticles for drug delivery" (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2021), "Delivery technologies for cancer immunotherapy" (Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 2019), "Advances in biomaterials for drug delivery" (Advanced Materials, 2018), and recent advances like "Designer lipids for delivering mRNA to the brain" (Nature Materials, 2025). Mitchell has earned prestigious awards including Top 1% Highly Cited Researcher (Clarivate Analytics, 2024), Controlled Release Society Young Investigator Award (2024), American Cancer Society Research Scholar (2023–2026), NSF CAREER Award (2022–2027), Society for Biomaterials Young Investigator Award (2022), NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (2018–2023), and Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface (2018–2023). With over 25,000 citations, his contributions significantly impact nanomedicine and RNA therapeutics.

Professional Email: mjmitch@seas.upenn.edu