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Soracha Dechaumphai, Ph.D.

24 Jun, 2025

Profile Summary

Dr. Soracha Dechaumphai (neé Thamphiwatana) is an expert in nanomedicine and nano-biomaterials, with a strong research focus on the development of bioinspired and multifunctional nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery, diagnostics, and theranostics. Her work addresses global health challenges such as antimicrobial resistance, cancer, and chronic diseases through engineering-based solutions. She received her Ph.D. in NanoEngineering from the University of California, San Diego, where she trained under Prof. Liangfang Zhang, and later contributed to both academic and industrial R&D in the United States, France, and Germany.

Her research portfolio spans fundamental and translational nanotechnologies aimed at improving clinical outcomes. With over 7,000 citations and an h-index of 27, her work has been published in leading journals including Nature, PNAS, and ACS Nano, and has led to multiple patents in advanced drug delivery and diagnostics. She previously served as Deputy Dean for Academic and Student Affairs and Assistant Dean for International Affairs, where she played a pivotal role in advancing engineering education, international collaboration, and program accreditation at the national and regional levels.

Education

Ph.D. in NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, USA
M.S. in NanoEngineering, University of California, San Diego, USA
M.E. in Biomedical Engineering, Colorado State University, USA
B.Pharm. in Pharmaceutical Sciences (First Class Honors), Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

Invited Talks

S. Dechaumphai, Nanoparticle biointerfacing by cell membrane cloaking for precision medicine” *Invited Speaker at 38th Southern Biomedical Engineering Conference: New Orleans, LA, 08/2022.
S. Dechaumphai, “Biomimetic Nanoparticles for biomedical applications”, *Invited talk at International Conference on Precision Nanomedicine in Theranostics, Taiwan, 10/2021.
S. Dechaumphai, “Biomimetic Nanoparticles for infection treatment”, *Invited talk at Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 12/2020.
S. Dechaumphai, “Multifunctional theranostic nanoparticles for breast cancer”, *Invited talk at 46th international congress on Science, technology and Technology-based Innovation (STT), Bangkok, Thailand, 10/2020.
S. Thamphiwatana, “Biomimetic nanoparticles for cancer theranostics”, *Invited talk at Siriraj Cancer Nanomedicine Conference, Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, 09/2017.
S. Thamphiwatana, “Biologically inspired nanoparticles for therapeutic applications” *Invited talk at Department of Biomedical Engineering, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, 09/2017.
S. Thamphiwatana, “Nanoparticle biointerfacing by cell membrane cloaking for precision medicine”, *Invited talk at A Sino-ASEAN Conference on Precision Medicine, Cholburi, Thailand, 06/2017.
S. Thamphiwatana, “Biomimetic nanoparticles for infectious treatment and management”, *Invited talk at Biologically Engineering department, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand, 02/2017.
S. Thamphiwatana, “Bioinspired nanomedicine for therapeutic applications”, *Invited talk at Biological Sciences department, School of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand, 02/2017.
S. Thamphiwatana, “Biologically inspired nanomaterials for therapeutic applications”, *Invited talk at Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, 12/2016.
S. Thamphiwatana, “Biologically inspired nanomedicine for therapeutic applications” 32nd Annual Faculty of Medicine PSU conference: Healthcare in a changing world, Prince of Songkla Universiy, Songkhla, Thailand, 08/2016.
S. Thamphiwatana, Gao W, Zhang L. “Hydrogel release of nanoparticle-stabilized liposomes for antimicrobial drug delivery” JSOE 33rd Research Expo, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 04/2014.
S. Thamphiwatana, “Antimicrobial nanotherapeutics for the treatment of bacterial infection” *Invited talk at Department of Biomedical Engineering, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, 07/2013.
S. Thamphiwatana, Pornpattananangkul D, Gao W, Zhang L. “Antimicrobial nanoparticles for bacterial infection treatment” The 4th International conference on Multi-Functional Materials and Structures, Bangkok, Thailand, 07/2013.
S. Thamphiwatana, Fu V, Gao W, Zhang L. “Antimicrobial nanotherapeutics for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection”. JSOE 32nd Research Expo, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 04/2013.
S. Thamphiwatana, Pornpattananangkul D, Fu V, Zhang L. “Gold nanoparticles-stabilized liposomes for bacterial skin infection treatment”. JSOE 31st Research Expo, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 04/2012.

Selected Publications
(H-index = 27; Citations: 7370 from google scholar)

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=_pRv49AAAAAJ
SCOPUS; https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=55354013000
PUBMED; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=soracha+thamphiwatana&size=200
ORCID ID; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3664-9488

Obonyo M*, Zhang L*, S* Thamphiwatana, Pornpattananangkul D, Fu V, Zhang L. Antibacterial activities of liposomal linolenic acids against antibiotic-resistant Helicobacter pylori, Mol. Pharmaceutics, 2012, 9; 2677-85. (*The authors contributed equally) (IF 4.440)
Gao W, S. Thamphiwatana, Angsantikul P, Zhang L. Nanoparticle approaches against bacterial infections, WIREs Nanomed. Nanobiotechnol. 2014, 6; 532-47. (IF 4.761)
S. Thamphiwatana, Gao W, Pornpattananangkul D, Zhang Q, Fu V, Li J, Li J, Obonyo M, Zhang L. Phospholipase A2-degradable liposomes for antibiotic delivery against Helicobacter pylori, J. Mater. Chem. B 2014, 2, 8201-07. (IF 4.543)
S. Thamphiwatana, Gao W, Obonyo M, Zhang L. In vivo treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection with liposomal linolenic acid reduces colonization and ameliorates inflammation, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2014, 111; 17600-05. (IF 9.661)
Gao W*, Renfeng D*, S* Thamphiwatana, Jinxing L, Gao W, Zhang L, Wang J. Artificial micromotors in a mouse’s stomach: A step towards in vivo use of synthetic motors, ACS nano 2015, 9; 117-23. (*The authors contributed equally) (IF 13.942)
Hu CM, Fang R, Wang KC, Luk B, S. Thamphiwatana, Dehaini D, Nguyen P, Angsantikul P, Wen C, Kroll A, Carpenter C, Ramesh M, Qu V, Patel S, Zhu J, Shi W, Hofman F, Chen T, Gao W, Zhang K., Chien S, Zhang L. Nanoparticle biointerfacing by platelet membrane cloaking, Nature 2015, 526; 118-21. (IF 40.137)
Li J*, S* Thamphiwatana, Liu W*, Esteban-Fernandez de Avila B, Angsantikul P, Sandraz E, Wang J, Xu T, Soto F, Ramez V, Wang X, Gao W, Zhang L, Wang J. Enteric micromotor can selectively position and spontaneously propel in the gastrointestinal tract. (*The authors contributed equally), ACS nano, 2016, 10; 9536-9542. (IF 13.942)
S. Thamphiwatana, Angsantikul P, Escajadillo T, Zhang Q, Olson J, Luk BT, Zhang S, Fang RH, Gao W, Nizet V, Zhang L. Macrophage-like nanoparticles concurrently absorbing endotoxins and proinflammatory cytokines for sepsis management. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2017, 114; 11488-93. (IF 9.661)
Angsantikul P, S. Thamphiwatana, Zhang Q, Spiekermann K, Zhuang J, Fang R, Gao W, Obonyo M, Zhang L. Coating nanoparticles with gastric epithelial cell membrane for targeted antibiotic delivery against Helicobacter pylori infection. Adv. Therapeutics. 2018, 201800016. (IF 5.20)
Marshall SK, Angsantikul P, Pang Z, Nasongkla N, Hussen RS, SD. Thamphiwatana. Biomimetic Targeted Theranostic Nanoparticles for Breast Cancer Treatment. Molecules. 2022 Oct 1;27(19):6473. (IF 4.927)
Puttawong J, Yingkajorn M, Khongkow P, SD. Thamphiwatana*, Phairatana T*. Anti-Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Efficacy of Layer-by-Layer Silver Nanoparticle/Polyacrylic Acid-Coated Titanium Using an In-House Dip Coater. Polymers. 2025; 17(3), 333. (*co-corresponding authors) (IF 4.9)
Phetporkha K, Saisawang C, Rattanavirotkul N, SD. Thamphiwatana*, Chantasart D*. Dissolvable Microneedles Embedded with Chitosan Nanoparticles for Transdermal Delivery of Pramipexole Dihydrochloride in Parkinson’s Disease. ACS Omega. 2025 Jul 23. (*co-corresponding authors) (IF 4.4)

Grants

2024-2025 Principal investigator. Renal-targeted nanodelivery for
diabetic nephropathy therapy
2023-2025 Co-investigator. Microneedle transdermal transport study
of pramipexole dihydrochloride for the treatment of
Parkinson’s disease
2019-2023 Co-Principal investigator. Development of Kratom extract
delivery system through nanotechnology together with
microneedle patch for chronic pain management
2020-2022 Principal investigator. Nanotherapeutics against
Carbapenems-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and
its Biofilm
2020-2022 Principal investigator. pH-responsive nanoparticles for
dual actions against antibiotic-resistant infection
2019-2021 Principal investigator. Multifunctional theranostic
nanoparticles for the treatment and detection of
colorectal cancer.
2019-2020 Co-Principal investigator. Feasibility of the first scaled up
nanoparticle synthesis for antimicrobial resistant infection
treatment (NANOSYN).
2019-2020 Principal investigator. Nanoparticles-enabled
multifunctional surface coating on orthopedic implants
for the treatment and prevention of biomaterial-
associated infection.
2018-2020 Principal investigator. Multivalent nanoparticles-enabled
microfluidic device for circulating tumor cells isolation and
detection.
2017-2018 Principal investigator. Nanoparticles-embedded
microneedle array patch for anti-aging treatment.
2017-2019 Co-investigator. Cost-effective microfluidic electronic
devices for optimal drug administration based on
fractional pharmacokinetics for leukemia treatments
(MEDLEM)
2017-2018 Principal investigator. Red blood cells membrane cloaked
nanoparticles for dual actions of toxin binding and killing
methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Honors and Awards

Invited TEDxChaingmai speaker (2019)
American Association of University Women (AAUW) International Project Fellow (2019)
Leaders in Innovation Fellow (LIF) (2019)
Co-chair of the Thai Young Scientists Academy (TYSA) (2018)
Membership of the Global Young Academy (GYA) (2018)
Thailand Toray Science Foundation Award (TTSF) (2017)
Class of 2015 UCSD outstanding graduate student (2015)
Frontiers of Innovation Scholars Program Postdoctoral Fellowship (2015)
UCSD Rady School of Management Micro-MBA certificate (2014)
The Best literature Review Award (2013)
The von Liebig Center's Most Promising Innovation Award (2013)
Friends of International Awards (2013)
American Association of University Women (AAUW) International Fellowship (2012)
Royal Thai Government Scholarships (2008)
First Class Honors Award, Prince of Songkla University (2006)