The “leitmotiv" of my research is the establishment of nanoparticles-based diagnostics and nano-delivery systems for therapeutic agents that will promote cell survival, neuronal growth and differentiation. I am particularly interested in the mechanisms that underlie the nanoparticle-cell interactions and signaling pathways involved in these processes. In the last several years our focus has been on the role of glia, particularly microglia, in the elimination OF nanostructured materials from, and their delivery to, sites of injury. We anticipate that our cell biological investigations of drug-polymer-cell interactions will have biomedical applications, especially in the fields of diagnosis and treatment. My main scientific contributions are in revealing the mechanisms of cell death by nanostructures and roles of organelles in cell adaptation and functional repair.