Faculty Profiles

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Dr. Tania Betancourt

  • Professor - Chemistry and Biochemistry
Portrait of Dr. Tania Betancourt

Biography and education

Dr. Tania Betancourt is originally from Bogota, Colombia. She obtained her B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University in 2002, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biomedical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 2005 and 2008, respectively. Dr. Betancourt is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Assistant Director of the Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization Program, and Director of the NSF PREM Center for Intelligent Materials Assembly at Texas State University. Dr. Betancourt leads the research of the Biomaterials and Nanomedicine Laboratory, which focuses on the development of functional polymeric nanostructures for the detection, monitoring, and treatment of cancer and other diseases.
  • Betancourt, Tania (Principal), Brittain, William J (Co-Principal), Irvin, Jennifer A (Co-Principal), Theodoropoulou, Nikoleta (Co-Principal), Martin, Benjamin (Co-Principal), Rhodes, Christopher Peter (Co-Principal), Wistey, Mark A (Co-Principal), Miyahara, Yoichi (Co-Principal), Kerwin, Sean Michael (Co-Principal). TxState-UT PREM Center for Intelligent Materials Assembly (CIMA), National Science Foundation, Federal, $3822000. (Funded: July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2027). Grant.
  • Betancourt, Tania (Principal), Massingill, John (Co-Principal). Non-Dispersive Reaction and Separation Processes for Pharmaceutical Synthesis (G), National Institutes of Health (NIH), $150000. (Funded: January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015). Grant.
  • Betancourt, Tania (Principal), Massingill, John (Principal), Stretz, Holly (Co-Principal). High Throughput Manufacturing of Monodispersed Nanoparticles for Biomedicine (G), National Institutes of Health (NIH), $150000. (Funded: September 30, 2014 - August 31, 2015). Grant.
  • Lewis, Karen A (Principal), Whitten, Steven T (Co-Principal), Betancourt, Tania (Co-Principal), Stachowiak, Jeanne (Co-Principal), Deb, Seemanta. Hydrogel formation by the N-terminal domains of the Eyes Absent Proteins 1 and 2, PREM CIMA and National Science Foundation, Federal, $8000. (Submitted: November 2024, Funded: January 2025 - December 2025). Grant.
  • Hodge, Jonathan, Bryant, Barrett Richard, Fletcher, Steven, Golato, Andrea, Guirguis, Mina S (Supporting), Betancourt, Tania (Supporting), Morrish, Douglas G (Supporting), Vargas, Micaela, Ojeda-Ruiz, Ivan (Supporting). SEU to TXST: STEM Graduate Pathways, Sloan Foundation, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $75000. (Submitted: 2024, Funded: January 2025 - December 2025). Grant.
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  • Thapa, K., FitzSimons, T., Otakpor, M., Siller, M., Crowell, A., Zepeda, J., … Betancourt, T. (2023). Photothermal Modulation of Dynamic Covalent Poly(ethylene glycol)/PEDOT Composite Hydrogels for On-Demand Drug Delivery. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 15, 52180–52196. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c11288
  • Bretin, L., Husiev, Y., Ramu, V., Zhang, L., Hakkennes, M., Abyar, S., … Bonnet, S. (2023). Red-Light Activation of Microtubule Polymerization Inhibitor via Amide Functionalization of the Ruthenium Photocage. Angewandte Chemie, 63(5), e202316425. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202316425
  • Heshmati Aghda, N., Amiri, M., Tunnell, J., & Betancourt, T. (2022). Design of Smart Nanomedicines for Effective Cancer Treatment. Int. J. Pharm., 621, 121791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2022.121791
  • Heshmati Aghda, N., Torres Hurtado, S., Abdulsahib, S., Lara, E. J., Tunnell, J., & Betancourt, T. (2021). Dual Photothermal/Chemotherapy of Melanoma Cells with Albumin Nanoparticles Carrying Indocyanine Green and Doxorubicin Leads to Immunogenic Cell Death. Macromol. Biosci. https://doi.org/10.1002/mabi.202100353
  • Huff, M. E., Gokmen, F. O., Barrera, J. S., Lara, E. J., Tunnell, J., Irvin, J. A., & Betancourt, T. (2020). Induction of Immunogenic Cell Death in Breast Cancer by Conductive Polymer Nanoparticle-Mediated Photothermal Therapy. ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS, 2(12), 5602–5620. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.0c00938
View all scholarly/creative works
  • Award / Honor Recipient: 2022 College Achievement Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities, College of Science and Engineering. July 2022
  • Award / Honor Recipient: 2021 College Achievement Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activities, College of Science and Engineering. July 2021
  • Award / Honor Recipient: College of Science and Engineering 2018 Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Service, Texas State University. September 2018
  • Award / Honor Nominee: Presidential Service Award, Texas State University. 2015
  • Award / Honor Recipient: College of Science and Engineering Distinction Award for Excellence in Service. 2015
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  1. Member

    HSI Community Council

  2. Chair

    Advancement to Candidacy Requirements in MSEC

  3. Member

    Safety Committee

  4. Other

    Chemistry and Biochemistry Representative to Library

  5. Reviewer / Referee

    Scientific Journals: British Journal of Pharmacology, International Journal of Pharmaceutics (3 articles), Nanomedicine, Nanoscale Advances

  6. Reviewer / Referee

    Reviewer for Faculty Tenure & Promotion Application, Trinity University

  7. View all activities