Last updated: [7/9/2026]
This is a living document that evolves as our lab grows and learns
Our Mission
Modern medicine saves lives. That conviction drives everything we do.
We develop innovative therapies using extracellular vesicles (EVs) — nature’s own delivery system — to treat diseases with limited options. Our work bridges fundamental discovery with clinical application.
My path into EV biology began long before I studied EVs. I trained in molecular genetics during the era when the human genome was first sequenced — a moment that answered some questions but created far more. That explosion of unknowns drew me into non-coding RNA biology, where I spent my PhD studying microRNAs.
MicroRNAs work beautifully at the cellular level, yet their clinical translation has been limited by one persistent challenge: delivery. That bottleneck — how to deliver functional nucleic acids safely and effectively — led me to extracellular vesicles, nature’s own delivery system. EVs offered both a biological mystery and a potential solution. Today our lab combines mechanistic EV biology with EV engineering to solve the delivery problem that originally motivated our work.
Our mission bridges fundamental discovery with clinical translation, driven by the belief that deep mechanistic insight accelerates meaningful therapeutic innovation.
The Power of Different Angles
My scientific journey has crossed continents and cultures — from Japan to the UK, Sweden, and the United States. Along the way I learned one enduring lesson: the same fact, the same data, the same problem looks completely different from different angles, and that’s where discovery lives. This international perspective shapes how we think, how we collaborate, and how we build our scientific community.
Our Approach
Innovation Through Diversity
The best science emerges when people with different backgrounds, training, and lived experiences work together. Our team spans from Michigan to Bangladesh, from engineering to biochemistry, and our trainees have come from across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Each person contributes a distinct scientific angle shaped by their environment and training. These differences aren’t incidental — they’re foundational. There is no single “correct” way to approach a scientific question, and your background isn’t just personal history; it’s your scientific superpower.
Passion-Driven Discovery
You cannot do excellent research without loving what you do. We give researchers the freedom to explore questions that excite them and the support to pursue ideas that align with their strengths. Each trainee discovers how their unique perspective advances our mission.
Mechanism-to-Medicine Focus.
Every project connects to potential clinical impact. We engineer EVs to deliver therapies to specific tissues, target cancer cells, treat metabolic diseases, and cross barriers that current drugs cannot. Knowing that someone, somewhere, might benefit from our work drives us forward. At the same time, we prioritize building reproducible, rigorously documented knowledge — essential for scientific progress.
Our Values in Practice
Open Science: We share protocols, data, and resources globally. Collaboration serves patients better than competition. All experiments are carefully planned, thoroughly documented, and shared openly whenever feasible, ensuring reproducibility and trust in our work.
Inclusive Excellence: Different perspectives aren’t just welcomed — they’re essential. We support the whole person, not just the scientist. We acknowledge the importance of work-life balance and support trainees in pursuing both personal and professional growth.
Training Philosophy: Each person deserves the opportunity to explore their passion. We provide project ownership, flexibility to pivot, and mentorship tailored to each trainee’s goals, strengths, and learning style. This approach supports both professional growth and personal development.
Partnering With Us
We welcome team members who bring unique perspectives and are passionate about translational medicine. We seek collaborations that bridge basic and clinical research, include diverse viewpoints, and accelerate translation into both new knowledge and therapies that benefit patients.
We participate in scientific outreach, share our findings openly, and maintain realistic dialogue about both the potential and limitations of our research. Our partnerships value discovery as much as application — every experiment contributes to the shared foundation of knowledge that enables future breakthroughs.
A Living Philosophy
What remains constant is our commitment to building knowledge, developing therapies that work globally, and training scientists and thinkers to see challenges from multiple angles. In our lab, your different perspective isn’t a limitation — it’s exactly what might reveal the next breakthrough.
Science transcends borders, and so should its benefits.
CONTACT:
Masako Harada, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Michigan State University
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