image: Dr. Little was recognized for his development of novel drug delivery systems. view more
Credit: Ric Evans/Swanson School of Engineering
PITTSBURGH (May 30, 2018) ... The Controlled Release Society this week announced that University of Pittsburgh Professor Steven Little is the recipient of its 2018 Young Investigator award. The honor annually recognizes one individual in the world, 40 years of age or younger, for outstanding contributions in the science of controlled release. Dr. Little is the William Kepler Whiteford Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering.
Dr. Little's focuses on novel drug delivery systems that mimic the body's own mechanisms of healing and resolving inflammation. This allows for dosages that are millions of times smaller than current medicine, and his next-generation treatments have shown promise for addressing a number of conditions including glaucoma, periodontal disease, wound healing, cancer, skin allergic dermatitis, and even transplantation of tissues and limbs. New "controlled release" systems developed by Dr. Little are applied once and then released over a period of days or months, depending on the medication.
His controlled release discoveries resulted in the co-founding of Pittsburgh-based Qrono Inc., which provides custom designed controlled release formulations for academic laboratories and agricultural and pharmaceutical companies.
Previous Young Investigator Award recipients include:
2017 Zhen Gu
2016 Ryan Donnelly
2015 Twan Lammers
2014 Suzie Pun
2013 Ali Khademhosseini
2012 Cory Berkland
2011 Molly Stevens
2010 Krish Roy
2009 Justin Hanes
2008 Samir Mitragotri
2007 David Putnam
2006 Stefaan De Smedt
2005 Mark Prausnitz
2004 Jean-Christophe Leroux
2003 Duncan Craig
2003 Glen Kwon
2002 Steve Schwendeman
2001 Jeffrey Cleland
2001 Saghir Akhtar
2000 Claus-Michael Lehr
1999 Derek O'Hagan
1998 Antonios Mikos
1997 Martyn Davies
1996 W. Mark Saltzman
1996 Joke Bouwstra
1995 Rainer Mueller
1994 Kam Leong
1993 Ruth Duncan
1992 Joachim Kohn
1992 Kinam Park
1991 Vincent Lee
1990 Patrick Couvreur
1989 Ronald Siegel
1988 Richard Guy
More About Dr. Little
Dr. Steven Little is a William Kepler Whiteford Endowed Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Bioengineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Immunology, Ophthalmology and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT in 2005, with his thesis winning the American Association for Advancement of Science's Excellence in Research Award.
Researchers in Dr. Little's Lab focus upon therapies that are biomimetic and replicate the biological function and interactions of living entities using synthetic systems. Areas of study include bioengineering, chemistry, chemical engineering, ophthalmology, and immunology, and the health issues addressed include autoimmune disease, battlefield wounds, cancer, HIV, ocular diseases, and transplantation. Dr. Little currently has 10 provisional, 2 pending, and 5 issued patents.
Dr. Little has been recognized by national and international awards including the Curtis W. McGraw Research Award from the ASEE, being elected as a fellow of the BMES and AIMBE, a Carnegie Science Award for Research, the Society for Biomaterials' Young Investigator Award, the University of Pittsburgh's Chancellor's Distinguished Research Award, being named a Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar, being named an Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator, and being elected to the Board of Directors of the Society for Biomaterials.
In addition, Dr. Little's exceptional teaching and leadership in education have also been recognized by both the University of Pittsburgh's Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award and a 2nd Carnegie Science Award for Post-Secondary Education. Dr. Little was also recently named one of Pittsburgh Magazine's 40 under 40, a "Fast Tracker" by the Pittsburgh Business Times, and also one of only five individuals in Pittsburgh who are "reshaping our world" by Pop City Media.
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About the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
The Swanson School's Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering serves undergraduate and graduate engineering students, the University and industry, through education, research, and participation in professional organizations and regional/national initiatives. Active areas of research in the Department include Biological and Biomedical Systems; Energy and Sustainability; and Materials Modeling and Design. The faculty holds a record of success in obtaining research funding such that the Department ranks within the top 25 U.S. Chemical Engineering departments for Federal R&D spending in recent years with annual research expenditures exceeding $7 million.