Interior View: A New Front Against Cancer: Weinberg College

Interior View: A New Front Against Cancer

By Rebecca Lindell

Cancer is a cunning foe. It can behave so insidiously that the drugs used to fight it can land wide of the mark, damaging healthier tissues as well. But what if that medicine could be introduced with pinpoint accuracy into the very heart of a tumor? And what if, once delivered, the drug could work with spy-like stealth to fulfill its lifesaving mission? Such is the vision of Northwestern's Ronald and JoAnne Willens Center for Nano Oncology. Housed within Northwestern's International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN), the center connects Weinberg College scientists with McCormick School engineers and Feinberg School of Medicine researchers to develop innovative new therapies for the most aggressive cancers. Nanoparticles may be unfathomably small, notes IIN director Chad Mirkin, the Weinberg College chemistry professor who also leads the Willens Center. "But the potential for using them in the fight against cancer," he says, "is vast."

Explore the Ronald and JoAnne Willens Center for Nano Oncology

Helpers of humanity: The center was launched with a $10 million gift from longtime Northwestern supporters Ronald and JoAnne Willens. “It’s our desire to improve, grow and contribute to making the world better,” JoAnne Willens says. “We are grateful for that opportunity.”

A nano-sized “Trojan horse”: Chemistry professor Nathan Gianneschi (above right) is developing nanoscale capsules that disguise anti-cancer drugs so that they appear, from the tumor’s perspective, to be part of the tumor itself. Once accepted by the tumor, the nanoparticles spring open to form a network structure within the tumor tissue. This network serves as a depot of drugs, which leak into the tumor and stay there—reducing side effects and improving the effectiveness of anti-cancer medicine.

Taking aim at glioblastoma: A promising new SNA drug offers new hope in the fight against this notoriously aggressive brain cancer. Developed by Mirkin and Feinberg professor Alexander Stegh (left), it diminishes the ability of glioblastoma cells to divide. It is now undergoing human clinical trials, led by Priya Kumthekar, MD (right).

Coaching the immune system: By loading SNAs with antigens, researchers working under Feinberg professor Bin Zhang, MD are creating nanoparticles that selectively train the immune system to destroy cancer cells.

Big microscope, tiny specimens: A towering electron microscope allows researchers to view specimens that are less than .1 nanometer in size — smaller than a single hydrogen atom. Engineered especially for cancer research, the microscope is a boon to researchers working to develop nano vaccines.

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Interior View: A New Front Against Cancer

Spherical nucleic acids (pictured above)

Explore the Ronald and JoAnne Willens Center for Nano Oncology