Dr. Robby A. Petros is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Texas Woman’s University. He earned is PhD from Columbia University and did postdoctoral studies in the NIH-funded Carolina Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. His entry into the OBE movement came as he began applying the same skills used in research to his teaching. His effort focused on methods for collecting data that could drive rational decision making toward improving learning outcomes and student success in his sophomore-level course in Organic Chemistry. This work was the subject of a book chapter published in Innovations in College Science Teaching in 2015. He is collaborating with other investigators at TWU to transform teaching in all undergraduate science courses, which has already garnered more than $3.5 M in support from the National Science Foundation. He has been a Leadership Fellow for both the Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) and AACU-Project Kaleidoscope. He was a Distinguished NextGen Senior Faculty Fellow and designated a Global Learning Faculty Fellow for a Transformative Instruction Initiative.
His research focus is in field of targeted drug delivery to treat cancer. This work utilizes tools from nanotechnology to more-specifically-target chemotherapeutics to cancerous cells. He has authored or co-authored book chapters, publications in leading scientific journals, and is co-inventor on several patents. Liquidia has licensed some of this patented work and recently reported FDA approval for a dry powder formulation to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. Their formulation is predicated on the technology described in those patents for synthesizing discrete size- and shape-specific nanoparticles. His research endeavors have received support from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Welch Foundation, and Baylor Charles E Sammons Cancer Center.
