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Indian-origin chemist receives NSF CAREER award
Divya Mathur is developing nanoparticles capable of carrying genetic material to replace faulty genes.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 12, Jul 2025
- 13:55 EDT
- 13
Divita Mathur/ Divita Mathur with 3D DNA helix / Case Western Reserve University
Indian-origin chemist, Divya Mathur was awarded the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her research on synthetic DNA nanoparticles aimed at improving gene therapy.
Divya Mathur, who serves as the Frank Hovorka assistant professor of chemistry at the Case Western Reserve University’s College of Arts and Sciences, is one of three faculty members at Case Western Reserve to receive the award this year.
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The grant supports Mathur’s ongoing work in structural DNA nanotechnology, where she is developing programmable DNA nanoparticles that can be used to deliver therapeutic genes into specific cells. Her approach combines advanced microscopy with single-cell injections to monitor how these synthetic DNA structures behave once inside living cells.
“We don’t know how these nanoparticles act when they are inside the cell; how they interact with the proteins that are inside,” Mathur said. “We have to understand that fundamentally before we can imagine how to design therapeutics.”
The nanoparticles Mathur is developing are designed to be highly customizable—capable of carrying genetic material to replace faulty genes, instruct cells to produce needed proteins, or correct genetic mutations.
However, one of the primary challenges in gene therapy, she said, is not identifying the right gene to correct, but delivering it effectively to the intended part of the body.
“It’s easy to deliver things to the liver, so liver-based therapies are in clinical trials,” Mathur said. “Converting this to another area of the body is difficult, which is one of the things that motivates us to pursue this research.”
She envisions a future where these nanoparticles could include a targeting mechanism—like a barcode on a package—to guide them to specific cell types.
In addition to supporting her lab-based research, the CAREER award will fund Mathur’s outreach efforts, including summer chemistry projects for high school students and the development of mixed-reality 3D models to teach molecular structure and spatial orientation.
Earlier this year, Mathur received the university’s John S. Dieckhoff Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring. An undergraduate student in her lab, Sara Desai, was awarded the nationally competitive Barry Goldwater Scholarship for students pursuing research careers in science and engineering.
Her lab, the Mathur Nano Lab, focuses on using synthetic DNA as a scaffold to precisely organize organic and inorganic materials at the nanoscale—advancing their optical, chemical, and therapeutic properties.
Mathur holds a doctorate in bioinformatics and computational biology from Iowa State University (2016), a bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Delhi College of Engineering (2010), and completed postdoctoral research at the U.S. Naval Research Lab and George Mason University in Washington, D.C.
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