Professor Leo Chou awarded Ontario Early Researcher Award to advance vaccine and immunotherapy delivery

Professor Leo Chou has received an Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario to support his work on improving vaccine and immunotherapy delivery using DNA-based nanomaterials.

The award is part of Round 18 of the Early Researcher Awards (ERA), a program that helps early-career faculty at Ontario’s publicly funded research institutions build their research teams. Professor Chou is one of 54 researchers across the province to receive funding in this round.

His project, Enhancing vaccine access into lymph nodes using dynamic DNA materials, aims to address a longstanding challenge in drug delivery: ensuring that therapeutic agents reach the lymph nodes—critical hubs of immune activity—both efficiently and effectively.

By leveraging the biodegradable and tunable properties of DNA, the research team is developing a delivery system that initially behaves like a small particle for rapid entry into the lymph nodes, and then transitions into a larger form to improve retention. The goal is to increase the effectiveness of existing and future immunotherapies, ultimately reducing disease burden and improving health outcomes.

Chou’s work addresses pressing health concerns in Ontario, where cancer accounts for over 30,000 deaths annually and infectious diseases affect hundreds of thousands. Enhanced delivery methods could significantly improve the efficacy of treatments while reducing healthcare costs.

The Early Researcher Award is part of a broader $75 million investment by the Ontario government to support 162 research and innovation projects through the ERA and Ontario Research Fund programs. According to the province, the funding aims to strengthen Ontario’s long-term economic growth by advancing discoveries that improve lives and foster a skilled research workforce.

For more information on the announcement and the full list of award recipients, visit the Ontario government website and the Ontario Research Funding Summary.