 | | | June 22, 2009 - The Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS) has announced the winners of the second Center for Translational Innovation (CTI) Pilot Grant competition. Each award winner was selected not only for the high potential of their research in solving unmet medical problems, but also as strong examples of NUCATS’ mission by demonstrating excellence in innovation and a multidisciplinary approach to research teams. Award winners include faculty from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM), Children’s Memorial Research Center (CMRC), and from the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science (McC).  | | Structure of a carbon nanotube encapsulated in sodium cholate, image courtesy of Mark Hersam. |
Gokhan M. Mutlu, MD, Associate Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care, FSM, will lead research efforts on a Carbon Nanotube based treatment for lung cancer. Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer-related death in the U.S. Conventional chemotherapy and radiation improve mortality by only a slight margin and are further complicated by high systemic toxicity. Nanoparticles, tiny structures with a diameter of less than 100 nm, hold significant potential in providing an alternative for drug delivery and in precisely targeting a tumor without causing harm to adjacent healthy tissues.
Collaborating with Dr. Mutlu are Mark Hersam, PhD., Materials Science and Engineering, McC, G.R. Scott Budinger, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care, FSM, and Navdeep Chandel, PhD., Associate Professor, Medicine and Cell & Molecular Biology, FSM. - Andrew C. Larson, PhD., Assistant Professor, Radiology, FSM, and his team are focused on the development of an MRI-guided approach for Irreversible Electroporation (IRE), a new tissue ablation technology for treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, (HCC) a type of liver cancer. IRE targets delivery of electrical pulses to induce cell death through membrane permeablization. This approach removes some of the traditional treatment limitations associated with tissue ablation for HCC such as unintended damage to adjacent blood vessels and normal liver cells and under-treatment of targeted tumor tissue.
In addition to Dr. Larson, the research team includes Reed Omary, MD, Associate Professor, Cardiovascular Imaging, Interventional Radiology, FSM, and Alan V. Sahakian, PhD., Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Biomedical Engineering, McC. • P. Hande Ozdinler, PhD., Assistant Professor, Neurology, FSM, is working with Martha Bohn, PhD, Pediatrics, CMRC, to design a new method of gene therapy that treats only the specific sub population of cells that are affected by disease. The research project specifically targets the neurons involved in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) but could have application to a wide variety of other diseases. “NUCATS is uniquely positioned as a catalyst in furthering life-changing research projects. Each of these award winners reflect our vision and we look forward to their success as evidence that there is tremendous value in the facilitation of translational and clinical research across the entire NU community,” said, Dr. Philip Greenland, Director of NUCATS Institute. For more information on Pilot Funding or to receive updates on Pilot Grant announcements, please contact Jim Bray, j-bray@northwestern.edu.
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