NANO PHARMACEUTICALS - THE FALSE PROMISE OF NANO MEDICINE

Nanotechnology—the study and application of extremely small things—has tremendous potential to revolutionize medicine, especially the treatment of cancers and other complex diseases that don’t respond well to conventional medications. Dr. Joy Wolfram and her team at the Mayo Clinic are at the forefront of this research, working to develop multi-functional nanoparticle-based cancer therapies. Joy likens these nanoparticles to tiny cars that can be loaded with several different drugs, navigated through the body, and then delivered directly to diseased tissues, thereby increasing therapeutic efficacy and reducing side effects. Joy’s vision is to develop innovative nanomedicines that bring the next generation of cancer treatments directly to the clinic. Dr. Joy Wolfram is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Florida, where she leads the Nanomedicine and Extracellular Vesicles Laboratory. She also holds affiliate faculty positions in the Department of Nanomedicine at the Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, the Department of Biology at the University of North Florida in Florida, and the Wenzhou Institute of Biomaterials and Engineering at the Ningbo Institute of Industrial Technology in China. Joy received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from the University of Helsinki in Finland. In 2016, she completed her Ph.D in nanoscience and technology at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in China. In the past five years, she has authored more than 40 publications and received more than 25 scientific awards from seven different countries. She was included in the Amgen Scholars Ten to Watch List, which highlights the best and brightest up-and-comers in science and medicine across 42 countries. She has developed several nanoparticles for the treatment of various diseases, including cancer. Her goal is to bring new nanomedicines with increased therapeutic efficacy and safety to the clinic. Her mission is also to inspire and support underrepresented minorities in science. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx