Interview with Dr. Po-Han Chao—Winner of the Pharmaceutics Best PhD Thesis Award

We are pleased to share with you a recent interview conducted with Dr. Po-Han Chao, the winner of the Pharmaceutics 2024 Best PhD Thesis Award.

The following is an interview with Dr. Po-Han Chao:

1. Could you introduce your research work during your PhD studies and the main objectives of your doctoral dissertation?
My PhD centered on nanomedicine for cancer immunotherapy. Specifically, I worked on using liposomes to deliver resiquimod, a TLR7/8 agonist, into the tumor microenvironment. My dissertation, entitled “Resiquimod-Loaded Cationic Liposomes Cure Mice with Peritoneal Carcinomatosis and Induce Specific Anti-Tumor Immunity”, showed that this approach not only eradicated tumors in mice via cationic liposomes but also triggered long-lasting, tumor-specific immune memory. The bigger goal was to bring drug delivery and immunotherapy together, finding ways to make the immune system itself fight back against aggressive cancers.

2. Did you encounter any difficulties in carrying out this research? If yes, how did you overcome them and what strategies did you use to stay focused and motivated?
Yes, definitely. Technically, optimizing the liposomes to produce stable formulations with good drug loading took many rounds of trial and error. On top of that, the COVID-19 lockdowns made things harder because lab access was restricted for long stretches of time. That slowed down experiments and added a lot of uncertainty about timelines. What helped me was breaking the work into smaller milestones and focusing on what I could do outside the lab, like analyzing data or planning the next set of experiments. Talking with my supervisor and lab mates kept me grounded, and celebrating small wins along the way helped me stay motivated. Ultimately, I reminded myself of the bigger picture—that this research could contribute to new treatment options for patients who really need them.

3. In your opinion, what key qualities should an excellent PhD graduate possess? Do you have some advice for doctoral students who have not yet graduated?
I would say resilience, curiosity, and clear communication. Resilience because experiments will fail more often than they succeed, curiosity because that is what keeps you digging deeper, and communication because good science needs to be shared in a way that others can understand and use. For students still on their journey, do not measure your progress only by papers or data points. The PhD is about developing how you think, troubleshoot, and collaborate. Those skills stay with you much longer than a single publication.

4. What are your future research plans and what are your long-term career goals?
I want to keep working at the intersection of nanomedicine and cancer immunotherapy, with a focus on translating preclinical findings into clinically viable treatments. Long term, my goal is to bridge academia and industry to help move innovative therapies from the lab into clinical trials, where they can make a real difference for patients with advanced cancers.

5. As an author, what factors do you consider most important when choosing a journal for publication? Pharmaceutics is an open access journal—what are your thoughts on the open access publishing model?
When I choose a journal, I look for the right audience, a fair and constructive review process, and good visibility. The whole point is to make sure the research reaches the people who can use it and build on it. For open access, I think it is really valuable. It removes barriers and makes science accessible not only to researchers but also clinicians and even patients. Fees can be challenging, but overall, I see open access as the right direction for science as it makes knowledge more inclusive and accelerates collaboration.