"Effect of gender and neurons on nano-medicine design and clinical applications"

About:

Medicine is taking its first steps toward patient-specific cancer care. Nanoparticles have many potential benefits for treating cancer, including the ability to transport complex molecular cargoes, including siRNA and protein, as well as targeting specific cell populations. 

The talk will explain the fundamentals of nanotechnology, from ?barcoded nanoparticles? that target sites of cancer where they perform a programmed therapeutic task. Specifically, liposomes diagnose the tumor and metastasis for their sensitivity to different medications, providing patient-specific drug activity information that can be used to improve the medication choice.

The talk will also describe how liposomes can be used for degrading the pancreatic stroma to allow subsequent drug penetration into pancreatic adenocarcinoma and how nanoparticle? biodistribution and anti-cancer efficacy are impacted by the patient?s sex and, more specifically, the menstrual cycle.

The evolution of drug delivery systems into synthetic cells, programmed nanoparticles that have an autonomous capacity to synthesize diagnostic and therapeutic proteins inside the body, and their promise for treating cancer and immunotherapy, will be discussed.

References: Theranostic barcoded nanoparticles for personalized cancer medicine, Yaari et al. Nature Communications, 2016, 7, 13325 Collagenase nanoparticles enhance the penetration of drugs into pancreatic tumors, Zinger et al., ACS Nano, 13 (10), 11008-11021, 2019 Targeting neurons in the tumor microenvironment with bupivacaine nanoparticles reduces breast cancer progression and metastases, Science Advances, Kaduri et al., 7 (41), eabj5435, 2021 Nanoparticles accumulate in the female reproductive system during ovulation affecting cancer treatment and fertility, Poley et al., ACS nano, 2022

Bio:

Avi Schroeder is a tenured Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, where he heads the Laboratory for Targeted Drug Delivery and Personalized Medicine Technologies.

Dr. Schroeder conducted his Postdoctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. jointly at the Hebrew and Ben Gurion Universities.     

Avi is the recipient of more than 30 national and international awards, including being named a KAVLI Fellow, the Intel Nanotechnology-, TEVA Pharmaceuticals-, and the Wolf Foundation Krill Awards. Avi is the author of more than 60 papers, the inventor of 19 patents, and the co-founder of multiple startup companies based on these discoveries.

Schroeder is a member of the Israel Young National Academy of Sciences, Israel?s National Council for Civilian Research and Development, and the President of the Israel Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Hosted by: María José Alonso. Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery Group

Attendance certificates will be provided upon request to cimus.xestion [at] usc.es. Please bear in mind to register by writing clearly the name and surname on the printed sheet. We will not be responsible for amending the records of anyone who fails to do so.