Kerlin Balza was 12 years old in Panama when she noticed a bare patch on her scalp. She had recently lost her grandmother, whom she described as the most important person in her life. A dermatologist eventually diagnosed her with alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes patchy hair loss.
“At that time, it was really hard for me,” Balza said. “I was just a child, and I didn’t know what was happening. I experienced bullying at school because of the bald patches on my scalp.”
Engineering gets personal
More than a decade later, Balza is approaching the condition through a new lens. Now pursuing a master’s degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Miami College of Engineering, Balza is combining her personal experience with her scientific interests to explore biomaterial-based approaches for alopecia treatment.
“What I love about biomedical engineering is the opportunity to create something meaningful, especially innovations in the medical field,” she said.
A different approach to drug delivery
That interest recently led Balza to publish her first review paper as first author in Frontiers in Immunology. The paper, titled “Encapsulation-integrated microneedle platforms for alopecia treatment,” brings together existing research on microneedles, biomaterials, and encapsulation strategies and highlights their potential for controlled drug delivery, immunomodulation and hair follicle regeneration.
Microneedle patches use microscopic needles to create tiny pathways through the skin, enabling localized drug delivery. But getting the drug to the targeted area is only part of the challenge. Balza reviewed approaches that encapsulate drugs in tiny carriers, such as nanoparticles or microspheres, which are then incorporated into microneedle patches. These carriers can help protect the therapeutic compounds and regulate their release, allowing them to remain active for longer.
For example, one system discussed in the review encapsulated an alopecia drug in microspheres before incorporating it into a dissolving microneedle patch, gradually releasing most of the drug over about 20 days. For Balza, the potential benefits of these approaches are personal. As a child, she was prescribed a medicated cream that had to be applied to the affected areas of her scalp multiple times a day; a routine she remembers was challenging to maintain.
Examining these emerging approaches helped shape a research question Balza wanted to pursue herself. She found an opportunity to do that in the lab of David Castilla-Casadiego, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering whose research combines polymer science and biology to develop biomaterials for applications including drug delivery. His previous research includes biodegradable microneedle patches for pain medication delivery, including a system designed for use in cattle.
Building on that expertise, Balza began learning how to fabricate microneedles and exploring how this technology could be adapted specifically for alopecia treatment. Her master's thesis focuses on an approach she said she had not encountered in the scientific literature she reviewed: encapsulating a therapeutic agent within nanofibers and then incorporating those nanofibers into microneedles.
Although the research is still in its early stages, Balza said her personal connection to the condition continues to motivate her through the challenges of the work.
“I understand the emotional impact this condition can have on someone’s life,” Balza said. “I hope in some way my research, can contribute to helping others who are going through the same experience.”
Looking ahead to Panama
Balza’s path will eventually take her back to Panama. Her scholarship from the Panamanian National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation (SENACYT) includes a commitment to return and contribute professionally after completing her studies. Before then, she hopes to continue gaining research and industry experience in the United States, building knowledge and skills she can eventually bring home to help advance medical innovation in Panama.
For now, her research has connected an experience that began when she was 12 with the biomedical engineering questions she is pursuing today.
“I feel like I’m giving that little girl a little hope, a solution she didn’t have back then,” Balza said.
