Collin gave a presentation titled "Image-Guided Photodynamic Therapy for Brain Cancer: How Far Can We Go?", where he discussed his current work studying the use of light and photosensitizers to prevent glioblastoma recurrence. The talk focused on examining the limit of the photodynamic effect and how PDT treatments can be used to modulate the blood brain barrier.ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are proteins found within our cells that transport toxic chemicals out of the cell. Cancer cells over-express these transporters and utilize them to pump out anti-cancer drugs, making cancers resistant to treatment. Selectively shutting down ABC transporters in cancer cells while sparing healthy cells is therefore a promising strategy to attenuate drug resistance, which has been impossible until now. We plan to accomplish this with our expert team, consisting of a cancer biologist (Ambudkar), biomedical engineer (Huang), bioengineering Ph.D. student (Liang), and a CRTA student with a background in biochemistry. We will exploit our combined expertise to develop a mechanism though which light, chemistry, and nanotechnology can be leveraged to shut down ABC transporters in cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues.The Huang lab is collaborating with Dr. Dana M. Roque, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Dr. Jocelyn Reader at the University of Maryland School of Medicine to develop targeted, light-activatable nanoparticles for intraperitoneal photodynamic therapy that can be combined with surgical debulking either in the upfront or recurrent setting to eradicate microscopic residual disease. Thanks to FWC for supporting our work!
Daniel presented his senior capstone project entitled "Single-Stage Percutaneous Tracheostomy Device" and was awarded the Advisory Board Award for Translational Design! His project involved designing a single stage device that streamlines tracheostomy tube placement. His group plans to continue testing and developing their prototype. Congratulations Daniel! |
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December 2023
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