Devorah Cahn is a postdoctoral researcher in engineering at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, following her doctoral work at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research focuses on bioengineering approaches to improve targeted cancer therapies, with a particular emphasis on nanoparticle delivery systems and CAR-T cell therapy in solid tumors.

Cahn holds a B.S. in chemical engineering and a B.S. in biological sciences from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), and a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her doctoral research investigated strategies to overcome the extracellular matrix (ECM) barrier in nanoparticle drug delivery, including how PEG architecture and ECM type influence nanoparticle diffusion, cellular uptake, and biodistribution.

Cahn was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship for her project, Chondroitinase Tethered CAR-T Cell Therapy for Improved Treatment of Pancreatic Solid Tumors. Her project explores how chondroitinase nanogels can enhance CAR-T cell therapy by improving tumor infiltration and increasing survival in preclinical models, with the goal of advancing treatment strategies for pancreatic cancer. The research integrates biomaterials engineering and immunotherapy to address barriers in solid tumor drug delivery and immune cell penetration.

Her recent publications include:

Cahn, Devorah, Sanjay Pal, Nimit L. Patel, Timothy Gower, Senta M. Kapnick, Christopher M. Jewell, Gregg A. Duncan, Matthew T. Wolf. PEGylation strategies for enhanced nanoparticle delivery to tumor associated immune cells. Bioengineering and Translational Medicine, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/btm2.70098.

Cahn, Devorah, Alexa Stern, Michael Buckenmeyer, Matthew Wolf, Gregg A. Duncan. The Extracellular Matrix Limits Nanoparticle Diffusion and Cellular Uptake in a Tissue-Specific Manner. ACS Nano, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.4c10381.

Cahn, Devorah, Gregg Duncan. High-Density Branched PEGylation for Nanoparticle Drug Delivery. Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12195-022-00727-x.