Here you'll find a brief description of some of our current projects.
If you're interested in collaborating with the DiLeo lab, contact Dr. DiLeo here.

SoliDrop: Controlled release eye drops

Our group has developed a novel, semi-permanent eye drop platform that can sustain the delivery of ocular drugs for days or weeks from a single, topical dose. This non-invasive, patented method has been validated for use in treating glaucoma, ocular infection, corneal cystinosis, and more. We are currently exploring the commercial potential of the platform and expanding the SoliDrop portfolio to include posterior drug delivery. 

Novel biomaterials for dry eye disease

We are working with Dr. Vishal Jhanji of the UPMC Eye Center to develop novel methods for treating chronic dry eye disease. This includes improving the delivery of autologous serum, which is effective in treating dry eye when used as an eye drop but extremely difficult for patients to manage. The techniques we use to prepare the serum and deliver it make it more stable and bioavailable, which we believe will make treatment much easier for patients.

Injectable gels for retinal gene therapy

The DiLeo Lab is part of two large, multidisciplinary collaborations with Dr. Leah Byrne (Pitt), Dr. Jose Sahel (Pitt), Dr. William Beltran (Penn), and Dr. Valentina Emiliani (IDV). These complementary projects seek to test a new biomaterials approach to delivering viral vectors to the retina for gene therapy. The NIH-funded arm of the project will include preclinical testing, while the DOD-funded arm will add optogenetics to our approach.

Publications

NCBI My Bibliography for Dr. DiLeo

Funding (current and former)

National Institutes of Health--NEI, NIAMS, NHLBI
Department of Defense
​Pitt CTSI
Cystinosis Research Foundation
Research to Prevent Blindness
Eye and Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh--Center for Medical Innovation, Innovation Institute, and Chancellor's Office