Faculty Profile for Dr. Tania Betancourt

profile photo for Dr. Tania Betancourt
Dr. Tania Betancourt
Professor — Chemistry and Biochemistry
Program Faculty — Chemistry and Biochemistry
Program Faculty — Chemistry and Biochemistry
CENT 349
phone: (512) 245-7703
Scholarly/Creative Work
Awards
Grants
Service

Biography Section

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.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • 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
  • 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
  • Wang, K. W., Betancourt, T., & Hall, C. K. (2018). Computational Study of DNA-Cross-Linked Hydrogel Formation for Drug Delivery Applications. Macromolecules, 51(23), 9758–9768. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.8b01505

Selected Awards

  • 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 Recipient: College of Science and Engineering Distinction Award for Excellence in Service. 2015
  • Award / Honor Nominee: Presidential Service Award, Texas State University. 2015

Selected Grants

  • Lewis, Karen A, Whitten, Steven T (Co-Principal), Hough, Loren (Co-Principal), Hodby, Eleanor (Co-Principal), Theodoropoulou, Nikoleta (Supporting), Close, Eleanor W (Supporting), Rangelov, Blagoy (Supporting), Islam, Tanzima Z (Supporting), Betancourt, Tania (Supporting), Berry, Joe (Supporting), Finklestein, Noah (Supporting), MacGregor, Meredith (Supporting), Brown, Jed (Supporting), Eaves, Joel (Supporting). Creating Equitable Pathways to STEM Graduate Education, Sloan Foundation, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $249299. (Submitted: September 2, 2022, Funded: January 2023 - Present). Grant.
  • Lewis, Karen A (Principal), Luxford, Cynthia J (Co-Principal), Wheeler, Brittany Marie (Co-Principal), Webre, Whitney Ann (Co-Principal), Holland, Cory Lee (Co-Principal), Betancourt, Tania (Supporting), Brittain, William J (Supporting), Hudnall, Todd W (Supporting), Irvin, Jennifer A (Supporting), Kerwin, Sean Michael (Supporting), Kornienko, Alexander Vladimir (Supporting), Peterson, Ryan Loren (Supporting), Rhodes, Christopher Peter (Supporting). REU Site: A Chemistry REU on Molecular Innovation and Exploration (CheMIE), National Science Foundation, Federal, $378188. (Submitted: August 25, 2021, Funded: April 15, 2022 - Present). Grant.
  • 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.

Selected Service Activities

Member
HSI Community Council
2022-Present
Chair
Advancement to Candidacy Requirements in MSEC
2019-Present
Member
Safety Committee
2014-Present
Representative
Chemistry and Biochemistry Representative to Library
2014-2021
Reviewer / Referee
Scientific Journals: British Journal of Pharmacology, International Journal of Pharmaceutics (3 articles), Nanomedicine, Nanoscale Advances
2020-2020