Development of tumour-targeted gene delivery systems for intravenous cancer therapy
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Strathclyde
Department Name: Inst of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sci
Abstract
Cancer kills more people in the UK than any other disease: one cancer sufferer dies every 15 minutes, which adds up to over 35 000 people a year.
The possibility of using genes as medicines to treat cancer is currently limited by the lack of safe and efficacious delivery systems able to deliver therapeutic genes selectively to tumours by intravenous administration, without secondary effects to healthy tissues.
On the basis that iron is essential for tumour cell growth and can be effectively carried to tumours by using specific iron-carrier receptors present in abundance on the surface of cancer cells, we demonstrated that the use of iron-carriers linked to a highly promising gene delivery system resulted in gene expression mainly in the tumours after intravenous administration. This led to a rapid and sustained tumour regression over one month, with disappearance of 90% of the tested tumours and regression of the remaining ones in a laboratory model.
Building on the promising results already obtained, the proposed project aims to develop new "seek-and-destroy" systems by modifying the iron-carrier, and to evaluate their anti-cancer efficacy on cancer cells in vitro and in vivo after intravenous administration.
This innovative research would potentially have a major impact on healthcare, as there is currently no gene medicine commercially available for the intravenous treatment of cancer.
The possibility of using genes as medicines to treat cancer is currently limited by the lack of safe and efficacious delivery systems able to deliver therapeutic genes selectively to tumours by intravenous administration, without secondary effects to healthy tissues.
On the basis that iron is essential for tumour cell growth and can be effectively carried to tumours by using specific iron-carrier receptors present in abundance on the surface of cancer cells, we demonstrated that the use of iron-carriers linked to a highly promising gene delivery system resulted in gene expression mainly in the tumours after intravenous administration. This led to a rapid and sustained tumour regression over one month, with disappearance of 90% of the tested tumours and regression of the remaining ones in a laboratory model.
Building on the promising results already obtained, the proposed project aims to develop new "seek-and-destroy" systems by modifying the iron-carrier, and to evaluate their anti-cancer efficacy on cancer cells in vitro and in vivo after intravenous administration.
This innovative research would potentially have a major impact on healthcare, as there is currently no gene medicine commercially available for the intravenous treatment of cancer.
Technical Summary
The possibility of using genes as medicines to treat cancers is currently limited by the inability to efficiently deliver therapeutic genes to remote tumours by intravenous administration, without secondary effects to healthy tissues.
With the long-term aim of developing an efficacious cancer-targeted gene medicine, we demonstrated that polypropylenimine dendrimers conjugated to transferrin, whose receptors are overexpressed on most cancers, were highly promising, tumour-selective gene delivery systems : their intravenous administration to tumour-bearing mice led to a rapid and sustained tumour regression over one month, with disappearance of 90% of the tested tumours and regression of the remaining ones for the cancer model tested. This treatment was well tolerated by the animals.
Building on the promising results already obtained, the proposed project aims to develop new "seek-and-destroy" systems, by modifying the tumour targeting functionalities of the dendrimers as follows:
1) Replacement of the transferrin moiety by other promising tumour-targeting ligands of the same family that have intrinsic antitumoral activity, such as lactoferrin, lactoferricin and Beta-35.
2) Preparation of bifunctional dendrimers: conjugation of transferrin and lysine, conjugation of transferrin and transforming growth factor alpha.
The tumour targeting and therapeutic efficacy of these dendrimers will be evaluated on various cancer models, in vitro and in vivo after intravenous administration.
With the long-term aim of developing an efficacious cancer-targeted gene medicine, we demonstrated that polypropylenimine dendrimers conjugated to transferrin, whose receptors are overexpressed on most cancers, were highly promising, tumour-selective gene delivery systems : their intravenous administration to tumour-bearing mice led to a rapid and sustained tumour regression over one month, with disappearance of 90% of the tested tumours and regression of the remaining ones for the cancer model tested. This treatment was well tolerated by the animals.
Building on the promising results already obtained, the proposed project aims to develop new "seek-and-destroy" systems, by modifying the tumour targeting functionalities of the dendrimers as follows:
1) Replacement of the transferrin moiety by other promising tumour-targeting ligands of the same family that have intrinsic antitumoral activity, such as lactoferrin, lactoferricin and Beta-35.
2) Preparation of bifunctional dendrimers: conjugation of transferrin and lysine, conjugation of transferrin and transforming growth factor alpha.
The tumour targeting and therapeutic efficacy of these dendrimers will be evaluated on various cancer models, in vitro and in vivo after intravenous administration.
Planned Impact
- Cancer patients
Cancer kills more people in the UK than any other disease: one cancer sufferer dies every 15 minutes, which adds up to over 35 000 people a year.
The proposed research will address the unmet need of tumour-targeted delivery of plasmid DNA by intravenous administration, which is currently the subject of much research worldwide. Numerous highly promising therapeutic genes cannot be used clinically because of their failure to specifically reach remote tumours by intravenous administration. This represents a frustrating impasse, resulting in many potentially life-saving therapeutics being unavailable until this delivery issue is solved. The impact of our proposed project is therefore likely to be significant.
- Pharmaceutical industry
The pharmaceutical industry will be another beneficiary from this research, as this project aims to tackle a scientific challenge with direct relevance to patient treatment. The development of a safe and efficacious non-viral gene medicine able to specifically target and treat tumours after intravenous administration would have a major impact on healthcare. World gene therapy market is rapidly expanding and is forecast to reach $ 484 million by 2015. However, it is still in the experimental stage with success yet to be achieved in developing completely curative therapeutic drugs. To date, only two anti-cancer gene medicines, Gendicine and H101 are commercially available. These two p53 tumour-suppressor gene medicines are delivered in a viral vector for the intratumoral treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, in conjunction with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. There is currently no gene medicine commercially available for the intravenous treatment of cancer, thus making the development of an intravenously administered tumour-targeted gene medicine particularly promising. The proposed project is expected to improve the efficacy of intravenously administered gene therapy to tumours, leading to better anti-cancer therapy.
- Academia
As detailed in "Academic beneficiaries", the proposed project will be of interest to many multidisciplinary researchers. The information we obtain from this project will be shared with the scientific community by means of publication in scientific journals and presentation at conferences.
- National Health Service (NHS)
The Department of Health gives the total cost of treating cancers as £5.13 billion in 2008-2009, which accounts for 5.3% of total NHS spending during this year. In the very long term, targeted gene therapy with the ability to effectively treat cancer would have a pronounced impact on the significant financial burden caused by cancer patients on the NHS.
Cancer kills more people in the UK than any other disease: one cancer sufferer dies every 15 minutes, which adds up to over 35 000 people a year.
The proposed research will address the unmet need of tumour-targeted delivery of plasmid DNA by intravenous administration, which is currently the subject of much research worldwide. Numerous highly promising therapeutic genes cannot be used clinically because of their failure to specifically reach remote tumours by intravenous administration. This represents a frustrating impasse, resulting in many potentially life-saving therapeutics being unavailable until this delivery issue is solved. The impact of our proposed project is therefore likely to be significant.
- Pharmaceutical industry
The pharmaceutical industry will be another beneficiary from this research, as this project aims to tackle a scientific challenge with direct relevance to patient treatment. The development of a safe and efficacious non-viral gene medicine able to specifically target and treat tumours after intravenous administration would have a major impact on healthcare. World gene therapy market is rapidly expanding and is forecast to reach $ 484 million by 2015. However, it is still in the experimental stage with success yet to be achieved in developing completely curative therapeutic drugs. To date, only two anti-cancer gene medicines, Gendicine and H101 are commercially available. These two p53 tumour-suppressor gene medicines are delivered in a viral vector for the intratumoral treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, in conjunction with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. There is currently no gene medicine commercially available for the intravenous treatment of cancer, thus making the development of an intravenously administered tumour-targeted gene medicine particularly promising. The proposed project is expected to improve the efficacy of intravenously administered gene therapy to tumours, leading to better anti-cancer therapy.
- Academia
As detailed in "Academic beneficiaries", the proposed project will be of interest to many multidisciplinary researchers. The information we obtain from this project will be shared with the scientific community by means of publication in scientific journals and presentation at conferences.
- National Health Service (NHS)
The Department of Health gives the total cost of treating cancers as £5.13 billion in 2008-2009, which accounts for 5.3% of total NHS spending during this year. In the very long term, targeted gene therapy with the ability to effectively treat cancer would have a pronounced impact on the significant financial burden caused by cancer patients on the NHS.
Publications
Dufès C
(2013)
Transferrin and the transferrin receptor for the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to the brain and cancer cells.
in Therapeutic delivery
Somani S
(2014)
Applications of dendrimers for brain delivery and cancer therapy.
in Nanomedicine (London, England)
Somani S
(2015)
Transferrin-bearing dendrimers for cancer therapy: an update.
in Nanomedicine (London, England)
Lim LY
(2015)
Tumor regression following intravenous administration of lactoferrin- and lactoferricin-bearing dendriplexes.
in Nanomedicine : nanotechnology, biology, and medicine
| Description | Contribution to a commentary about the issue of transparency and reproducibility in nanomedicine, published in Nature Nanotechnology (3rd July 2019) |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Trustee of the British Society of Nanomedicine |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Research grant |
| Amount | £166,888 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 16-1303 |
| Organisation | World Cancer Research Fund |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Global |
| Start | 06/2016 |
| End | 05/2019 |
| Description | Research grant |
| Amount | £131,584 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | R463/0216 |
| Organisation | The Dunhill Medical Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2016 |
| End | 04/2019 |
| Description | Research grant |
| Amount | £35,035 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ACC/KWF/CT11/ 04 |
| Organisation | The Cunningham Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2014 |
| End | 04/2015 |
| Description | Research grant |
| Amount | £88,824 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ACC/KWF/CT04 |
| Organisation | The Cunningham Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2012 |
| End | 04/2014 |
| Title | Synthesis of novel lactoferrin- and lactoferricin-conjugated polypropylenimine dendrimers |
| Description | Lactoferrin- and lactoferricin-conjugated diaminobutyric polypropylenimine dendrimers (DAB-Lf and DAB-Lfc) are novel tumour-targeted gene delivery systems. Lactoferrin and lactoferricin are iron-binding members of the transferrin family, able to bind the transferrin receptors. In addition to their tumour delivery properties, these iron-carriers have recently been shown to have anti-cancer properties themselves, which make them highly attractive as part of a gene medicine. These 2 novel dendrimers have demonstrated their ability to carry DNA by formation of complexes, which occurred almost instantaneously and was stable over at least 24h. In vitro transfection experiment revealed that the conjugation of Lf to DAB led to a significantly improved transfection compared to DAB-Tf on A431 carcinoma cells overexpressing transferrin receptors. A qualitative analysis of the targeting efficacy of these delivery systems by confocal microscopy revealed that the co-localisation of fluorescently-labelled DNA in the nucleus was more pronounced after treatment with DAB-Lf dendriplex compared to unconjugated dendriplex. The conjugation of lactoferrin and lactoferricin to the dendrimer significantly increased the gene expression in the tumour while decreasing the non-specific gene expression in the liver. Consequently, the intravenous administration of the targeted dendriplexes encoding TNFa led to the complete suppression of 40% of A431 tumours and up to 50% of B16-F10 tumours over one month. In contrast, 100% of the tumours treated with naked DNA or left untreated were progressive. The treatment was well tolerated by the animals. These therapeutic effects, together with the lack of toxicity, potentially make lactoferrin- and lactoferricin- bearing DAB promising gene delivery systems for intravenous cancer therapy and should be further investigated to optimise their therapeutic potential. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | These tumour-targeted gene delivery systems are highly promising. It is the first time that lactoferrin-bearing dendrimers led to tumour regression following intravenous administration. This is particularly promising, as these nanomedicines should be able to specifically reach remote tumour or metastasis via this route of administration. This work has been published in Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine in 2015 (open access). |
| Title | Database Novel lactoferrin- and lactoferricin-bearing gene delivery systems for intravenous cancer therapy |
| Description | The research database "Novel tumour-targeted gene delivery systems for intravenous cancer therapy" is available in "Knowledgebase", the public research portal of the University of Strathclyde. It allows the open access to the research data obtained during the study. These data have now been published and can be accessed by all researchers. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This database facilitates the sharing of data with other research groups wishing to know more about our research and working in complementary research areas. It also provides examples of improvements in animal welfare and in the replacement, refinement or reduction of animal use that are crucial in all the research that we have been/are doing. |
| Description | Electron microscopy analysis of tumour-targeted dendriplexes |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The aim of this project is to develop a novel gene-based therapeutic system able to specifically deliver therapeutic genes to tumours after intravenous administration, thus leading to an improved anti-cancer therapeutic effect without secondary effects to normal tissues. To do so, we proposed to synthesize lactoferrin- and lactoferricin-conjugated diaminobutyric polypropylenimine dendrimers, namely DAB-Lf and DAB-Lfc. We conjugated DAB dendrimer to the targeting ligands and characterized the resulting tumour-targeted dendrimers, but didn't have the electron microscopy facilities to visualize the dendriplexes. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Mrs Margaret Mullin, from the University of Glasgow, took pictures of the dendriplexes by transmission electron microscopy, and confirmed their shape. She replaced Dr Lawrence Tetley, with whom we have been collaborating since 2008. |
| Impact | This collaboration is extremely important for us, as it is crucial to confirm the spherical shape of the dendriplexes before determining their size by photon correlation spectroscopy, using a Zetasizer. These characterisation experiments are essential for the gene delivery system to progress towards its in vitro evaluation of targeting and therapeutic efficacies. It is a multidisciplinary collaboration involving researchers with electron microscopy and gene delivery expertise. It resulted in publications in the following journals: - Collaboration with Dr Lawrence Tetley: Biomaterials (PMID: 21596431), Journal of Controlled Release (PMID: 21539872, PMID: 19944722, PMID: 19709637), Nanomedicine (PMID: 22891867) and Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine (PMID: 21333755). - Collaboration with Mrs Margaret Mullin: Nanoscale (PMID: 30488937), Journal of Controlled Release (PMID: 27993600), Nanomedicine (PMID: 25933695) |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | NMR analysis of the delivery systems |
| Organisation | University of Strathclyde |
| Department | Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The aim of this project is to develop a novel gene-based therapeutic system able to specifically deliver therapeutic genes to tumours after intravenous administration, thus leading to an improved anti-cancer therapeutic effect without secondary effects to normal tissues. To do so, we proposed to synthesize lactoferrin- and lactoferricin-conjugated diaminobutyric polypropylenimine dendrimers, namely DAB-Lf and DAB-Lfc. We conjugated DAB dendrimer to the targeting ligands, but didn't have the NMR skills to confirm the identity of the prepared compounds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Dr RuAngelie Edrada-Ebel, from the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, confirmed by NMR the identity of the synthesised targeted dendrimers, allowing us to further analyse the newly synthesised nanomedicines. The partnership started before the grant, but fully developed during the research funded by this MRC grant. |
| Impact | This collaboration was extremely important for us at the time of this project funding, as it was crucial to confirm the identity of the synthesized compounds before further analysing them in vitro and in vivo. It is multidisciplinary, involving researchers with analytical chemistry and nanomedicine expertise, and led to publications in Biomaterials (PMID: 21596431), Nanomedicine (PMID: 25933695), Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine (PMID: 21333755). The collaboration is no longer active: given the importance of NMR analysis in our research, I now have a post-doctoral research working in my laboratory, with a chemistry background and the required expertise to do very thorough analysis of newly synthesised compounds by NMR as well as other analysis techniques. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Title | Targeted dendrimers |
| Description | The present invention relates to a composition for targeted delivery of a bioactive molecule to cells in a body of a recipient, said composition comprising a polypropylenimine dendrimer and/or derivatives thereof to which one or more cell targeting molecule (s) have been conjugated thereto; and a bioactive molecule associated with said polypropylenimine dendrimer and/or derivative thereof. In one embodiment the cells to be targeted are cancer cells. The targeting molecule may be transferrin, lactoferrin, lactoferricin or gambogic acid. There is also provided uses of such compositions, as well as methods of treating diseases, such as cancer. |
| IP Reference | GB2487699 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | 2012 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | These tumour-targeted gene delivery systems are highly promising and might have potential for the treatment of a wide range of cancers. Their anti-cancer activity is currently further investigated in our laboratory. |
| Title | Synthesis of tumour-targeted gene delivery systems |
| Description | We have synthesized two novel tumour-targeted gene delivery systems, namely lactoferrin- and lactoferricin- bearing polypropylenimine dendrimers. These 2 novel dendrimers have demonstrated their ability to carry DNA by formation of complexes, which occurred almost instantaneously and was stable over at least 24h. In vitro transfection experiment revealed that the conjugation of Lf to DAB led to a significantly improved transfection compared to DAB-Tf on A431 carcinoma cells overexpressing transferrin receptors. A qualitative analysis of the targeting efficacy of these delivery systems by confocal microscopy revealed that the co-localization of fluorescently-labelled DNA in the nucleus was more pronounced after treatment with DAB-Lf dendriplex compared to unconjugated dendriplex. The conjugation of lactoferrin and lactoferricin to the dendrimer significantly increased the gene expression in the tumor while decreasing the non-specific gene expression in the liver. Consequently, the intravenous administration of the targeted dendriplexes encoding TNFa led to the complete suppression of 60% of A431 tumors and up to 50% of B16-F10 tumors over one month. The treatment was well tolerated by the animals. These results suggest that these novel lactoferrin- and lactoferricin-bearing dendrimers are promising gene delivery systems for cancer therapy. |
| Type | Therapeutic Intervention - Cellular and gene therapies |
| Current Stage Of Development | Initial development |
| Year Development Stage Completed | 2012 |
| Development Status | Under active development/distribution |
| Impact | This research will address the unmet need of tumour-targeted delivery of plasmid DNA by intravenous administration, which is currently the subject of much research worldwide. Numerous highly promising therapeutic genes cannot be used clinically because of their failure to specifically reach remote tumours by intravenous administration. This represents a frustrating impasse, resulting in many potentially life-saving therapeutics being unavailable until this delivery issue is solved. The impact of our proposed project is therefore likely to be significant. This research is at the interface of cancer therapy and gene delivery. As a result, it will be of interest to the thousands of academics investigating these topics worldwide. This will include the scientists involved in cancer biology, gene delivery, biomaterials, pharmaceutics, as well as clinical oncologists. |
| Description | APS Cell and gene therapy webinar (May 2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk at a Cell and gene therapy webinar organised by the Academy of Pharmaceutics Sciences (APS) in May 2021. My talk was about the use of non-viral nanomedicines for gene therapy. It was very well received and was included in a conference report: C.F. van der Walle, C. Dufès, A.S. Desai, J. Kerby, J. Broadhead, A. Tam, Z. Rattray, Report on Webinar Series Cell and Gene Therapy: From Concept to Clinical Use, Pharmaceutics, 14(1) (2022) 168 (conference report). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Interview by the French newspaper "le Courrier de l'Ouest" (18th February 2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed by the French newspaper Le Courrier de L'Ouest about the ongoing research in my laboratory. In this interview, I talked more specifically about our recent results using tumour-targeted nanomedicines against prostate cancer. The article was published on 18th February and made the cover of the newspaper. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.ouest-france.fr/nouvelle-aquitaine/bressuire-79300/bressuire-cancer-de-la-prostate-chris... |
| Description | Invitation to give a talk and to participate in group sessions at the European Nanomedicine Meeting, London (April 2017) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give an oral presentation at the European Nanomedicine Meeting, London (April 2017). It was attended by international academics, industrials and researchers working in the field of Nanomedicine. My presentation was very well received by colleagues and members of the audience. As a Trustee of the British Society of Nanomedicine, I was also participating in discussions with representatives of nanomedicine groups from other European countries. It has developed my international visibility amongst my colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Invitation to give a talk at "Techfest in September" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | My talk was very well received by members of the audience. It sparked questions and discussions afterwards for about one hour and should lead to further involvement in "Techfest in September" next year. The feedback obtained by the organizers about my talk was very positive. I should be involved in "Techfest in September" next year. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.techfestsetpoint.org.uk/tis/uploads/files/programmes/2014_TechFestPublicProgramme.pdf |
| Description | Invitation to give a talk at the "Pint of Science" international festival in Glasgow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk at the "Pint of Science" international festival in Glasgow (May 2018). The talk was followed by questions and discussion afterwards from members of the public, as well as from undergraduate and postgraduate students working in other research fields. The feedback of the audience after the talk reported increased interest in the research area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Invitation to give a talk at the 21st World Congress on Clinical Nutrition, Budapest, Hungary (October 2017) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give an oral presentation at the 21st World Congress on Clinical Nutrition, Budapest, Hungary (October 2017). It was attended by a very diverse, international audience: Industry, academics, researchers and students working in clinical nutrition, medicine, nanotechnology, pharmacy. My presentation was very well received by colleagues and members of the audience. It was a follow-up invitation of a previous talk done last year in Bangkok, Thailand. It has already led to funding applications with international collaborations, will lead to future work of new delivery systems. It has developed my international visibility amongst my colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Invitation to give a talk at the 4th World Congress and Expo on Nanotechnology and Materials Science (Nano and Materials Science-2017, Barcelona (April 2017) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give an oral presentation at the 4th World Congress and Expo on Nanotechnology and Materials Science (Nano and Materials Science-2017, Barcelona (April 2017). It was attended by Industry, academics, researchers and students working in Nanotechnology. My presentation was very well received by colleagues and members of the audience. It should lead to new international collaborations, future work of new delivery systems and developed my international visibility amongst my colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Invited participation at the Women in Science Strathclyde Equate networking event, Glasgow (January 2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to participate at the Women in Science Strathclyde Equate networking event, in Glasgow (January 2021). This networking event aims to promote the research development of women working in scientific areas and to provide advice about future career in science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Invited presentation at an international conference (10th International Conference and Exhibition on Pharmaceutics & Novel Drug Delivery Systems, London) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give an oral presentation at the 10th International Conference and Exhibition on Pharmaceutics & Novel Drug Delivery Systems, London (March 2017). It was attended by academics from my research field, researchers and students. My presentation was very well received by colleagues and members of the audience. It should lead to new national collaborations, future work of new delivery systems and developed my international visibility amongst my colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Invited presentation at an international conference in China |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to present my work at the 13th International Conference on Polymers for Advanced Technologies (PAT) 2015, Hangzhou, China (June 2015). It was attended by academics from my research field, researchers, students, as well as health professionals. My presentation was very well received by colleagues and members of the audience. It should lead to international collaborations and developed my international visibility amongst my colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Invited presentation at an international conference in Greece |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to present my work at the 9th International Conference of Anticancer Research, Sithonia, Greece (October 2014). My talk was entitled "Tumour regression after intravenous administration of novel tumour-targeted nanomedicines". It was attended by academics from my research field as well as health professionals. My presentation was very well received by colleagues and members of the audience. It should lead to international collaborations and developed my international visibility amongst my colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Invited presentation at an international conference in Lithuania |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to present my work at the International conference "From bench to bed: challenges in cancer care", dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Lithuanian Society of Oncology. It took place on September 20-21, 2013, in Druskininkai (Lithuania). My talk was entitled "Tumour regression after intravenous administration of novel tumour-targeted nanomedicines". It was attended by academics from my research field as well as health professionals. My presentation was very well received by colleagues and members of the audience. It should lead to international collaborations and developed my international visibility amongst my colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.lod-vuoi.lt/ |
| Description | Invited presentation at the Nano World Cancer Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to present my work at the Nano World Cancer Day, London (February 2016). It was attended by academics from my research field, researchers, students, the press as well as health professionals. My presentation was very well received by colleagues and members of the audience. It developed my visibility amongst my colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Invited presentation by the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was shortlisted to give a lecture online about advanced materials, by the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM). This led to me being awarded the Scientist Medal of the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM). The prize is awarded to scientists who have been involved in research for at least 10 years and have made a significant contribution to the field of Materials science, Engineering & Technology (May 2021). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Invited seminar at Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to present seminar at Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand (December 2016). The seminar was attended by academics from my research field, researchers, students, as well as health professionals. My presentation was very well received by colleagues and members of the audience. It should lead to international collaborations and developed my international visibility amongst my colleagues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Involvement in the Glasgow Science Centre's Bodyworks exhibition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was involved in the Strathclyde's Really Small Science nanobioengineering public engagement event that took place from Thursday 17th October until Sunday 20th October 2013 as part of the Glasgow Science Centre's Bodyworks exhibition. I designed and presented a Cancer targeting dart game, which attracted 1037 people (553 children and 484 adults). My "Cancer targeting" exhibit was very well received by the public. We designed it in such a way that it was reachable to children of all ages, as well as adults: young children were more interested in throwing magnetic darts to the dart board, some older children were both interested by the game itself and the science behind the game, while most adults wanted to know more about the cancer-targeting nanomedicines designed in our laboratory at the University of Strathclyde. We made sure to involve all members of a same family in this exhibit: teams "adult-child" were made within a family, including young children (who were allowed to bring a "targeted nanomedicine" dart directly in the middle of the dart board with the help of their parents). In addition to the magnetic dart board, we used a flipchart to explain what "cancer targeting" is, using a simple example from every day's life understandable by everybody. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.glasgowsciencecentre.org/ |
| Description | Oral presentation of my research to school pupils from Clyde College visiting the Institute (22nd May 2018, 31st May 2018) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 50 pupils attended for a school visit to the research organisation. I gave them a talk about my research, the most promising results I obtained and how they could lead to future improvement in human health in the future. My talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards from the pupils and their teachers. The school reported increased interest in related subject areas, and my talk obtained excellent feedback form the audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Organisation of the British Society of Nanomedicine 5th Annual early career researchers' meeting in SIPBS (July 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | As a Trustee of the British Society of Nanomedicine (BSNM) (2016-present), I organised the BSNM 5th Annual early career researchers' meeting in SIPBS in July 2019. Now in its 5th year, this meeting has rapidly become the highlight of the Society's activities. This conference was designed to provide a supportive environment for Early Career Researchers, to exhibit their work, help promote new research collaborations and gain insight into the different disciplines of Nanomedicine in a friendly and supportive environment. At this conference, research was presented via oral presentations and posters from academics, industry researchers, post-doctoral researchers and PhD students from the UK and worldwide. At the coffee breaks, there was an opportunity for Early Career Researchers to discuss career path/strategies with more senior members of the BSNM community. About 100 researchers attended this meeting. Excellent feedback has been received. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Participation to the University of Strathclyde's Doors Open Days for SIPBS (5th October 2019) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | During this Doors Open Day, my research group presented their research via posters and hands-on experiments about nanomedicines to be done by member of the public (prospective students and their families). About 50 members of the public attended our stand. I orally presented my research, the most promising results I obtained and how they could lead to future improvement in human health in the future. My talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards from the prospective students and their families, who reported an increased interest in related subject areas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | School visits as a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Ambassador |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I volunteered to participate in two "Lab in a lorry" activities, in Lomond School (in Helensburgh) on Wednesday 7th November and in Notre Dame High School (in Greenock) on Wednesday 14th November. A total of 200 pupils attended these workshops, which sparked questions and discussions afterwards. The feedback from the teachers was highly positive. The pupils involved in these workshops appeared to be highly interested in science. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Seminar at the University of Hertfordshire (Life and Medical Sciences Research Conference) (online) (June 2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a seminar at the University of Hertfordshire as part of the Life and Medical Sciences Research Conference, in June 2021. My presentation was about the development of nanomedicines for the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. It was very well received by the audience, and led to further queries about this research area. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Seminar at the University of Sunderland (online) (November 2020) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I gave an online seminar at the University of Sunderland abour my recent research outcomes. This was attended by Undergraduate and Postgraduate students, as well as researchers from the University. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Webinar for the Lebanese Pharmacy Student Association (April 2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a research webinar by the Lebanese Pharmacy Student Association in April 2021. This talk was attended by Undergraduate students in Pharmacy, PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, academic staff and consultants from the whole Lebanon. About 200 people attended this webinar. This talk led to discussion about non-viral nanomedicines, the promises of gene therapy for cancer treatment and for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Many students reported increased interest in these subject areas after this webinar. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |