Two ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø researchers are developing treatments that aim to simultaneously treat cancer and improve patients’ quality of life. For World Cancer Day, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø News asked them to discuss their novel materials and how these materials can treat both the cancer and the patient.
The ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø School of Pharmacy’s Drug Interaction Database — the core research tool from the school’s nonprofit Drug Interaction Solutions team — is celebrating both a national award for innovation and two decades of independent funding through licensing agreements with companies, research institutes and regulatory agencies around the globe.
A ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø team led by Miqin Zhang, a professor of materials science and engineering and of neurological surgery, has developed a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system that can ferry a potent anti-cancer drug through the bloodstream safely. Their nanoparticle is derived from chitin, a natural and organic polymer that, among other things, makes up the outer shells of shrimp.
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø researchers are developing a smartphone app that is capable of objectively detecting concussion and other traumatic brain injuries in the field, which could provide a new level of screening for athletes and accident victims.
Researchers from the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø have teamed up with medical device manufacturer Medtronic to use the Activa® PC+S Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) system with people who have essential tremor.
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø researchers have demonstrated that when humans use brain-computer interfaces, the brain behaves much like it does when completing simple motor skills such as kicking a ball or waving. Learning to control a robotic arm or a prosthetic limb could become second nature for people who are paralyzed.