Shuttling through the Blood Brain Barrier using Carbon Nanoneedles
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: Pharmaceutical Sciences
Abstract
A significant proportion of the population are affected by diseases of the brain, many of which have limited drug treatment. Such diseases are often difficult to clinically diagnose and treat due to the limitations of brain access. One of the principle obstacles in drug development is brain delivery of the drugs or imaging agents, that can treat the disease or enhance its diagnosis. Recently, ultra small tubular like nanomaterial made of carbon called carbon nanotubes has been developed which could serve as "rafts" that could help transport drugs into the brain or could facilitate imaging of the brain. However, at present there is lack of information about the ability and mechanisms by which these nanotubes can penetrate into the brain through the blood brain barrier. This project will utilise a cellular model of this tight membrane to investigate how these nanotubes cross the endothelial brain membrane and whether they affect its integrity.
Technical Summary
Targeted drug delivery across the blood brain barrier (BBB) to the central nervous system is a large challenge for the treatment of neurological disorders. Drug delivery systems that cross the BBB without disrupting it would also have many applications for brain cancer diagnostic and other diseases, e.g. Alzheimer's disease. There still remains a pressing need for improved nanoparticle delivery systems to target drugs across the BBB. Functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are receiving increasing attention as vehicles for the delivery of diagnostic and therapeutic agents. The delivery properties of CNTs derive from the potential to deliver a drug by heterogeneously functionalizing their surface and also their ability to traverse the plasma membrane, promoting the cellular uptake of small molecules. However, there is essentially no mechanistic data at the level of individual CNTs to characterise their fundamental interaction with endothelial cells or how this interaction is modified by CNT surface chemistry and targeting to specific BBB receptors such as transferrin receptor or low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1. This project aims towards the evaluation of the BBB penetration capacity of novel f-CNT carriers using an in vitro BBB model employing porcine brain endothelial cells (PBECs) chosen due to its high transendothelial electrical resistance when cultured as a monolayer without astrocytes (>300 ohm.cm2) and good expression of the most important drug efflux transporters and P-glycoprotein. f-CNT will be fluorescently labelled or conjugated to a radioactive tracer to allow for qualitative and quantitative measurement of uptake or BBB permeation. Insights into these mechanisms will be essential to guide the development of CNT vectors to deliver drugs across the BBB to the central nervous system for the treatment of neurological disorders.
Planned Impact
This project will have an impact in academia and industry and will address all those interested in brain delivery, blood brain barrier biology and nanomedicine. Such a collaborative project promises to bring about a long-term benefit to the development of UK and European science and its clinical translation. It is relevant to pharmaceutical and medical companies interested in developing novel therapeutic approaches to the brain. The research aims to improve and expand brain delivery options to enhance the quality of life for UK and European citizens. It has the potential to contribute to knowledge transfer among the different national and European collaborators who are experts in their field. The development of nanopharmaceuticals is an emerging multidisciplinary area and research within a multidisciplinary team is mandatory for progress in the field. It is expected that a number of additional national, EU or independently funded collaborative projects will follow the developments achieved by this project. After fundamental understanding of how permeation processes take place, future funding for further clinical testing and commercialisation of the novel nanotube-based brain delivery systems along will be sought along with an industrial partner. Two highly skilled PDRA researchers will result from this work, ripe for employment in pre-clinical, clinical, industrial, or academic sector.
Organisations
- King's College London (Lead Research Organisation, Project Partner)
- National Chung-Hsing University (Collaboration)
- Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (Collaboration)
- Dibrugarh University (Collaboration)
- French National Centre for Scientific Research (Project Partner)
- Queen Mary University of London (Project Partner)
- University College London (Project Partner)
People |
ORCID iD |
Khuloud Al-Jamal (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Al-Jamal K
(2018)
Preparation of Exosomes for siRNA Delivery to Cancer Cells
in Journal of Visualized Experiments
Al-Jamal KT
(2016)
Magnetic Drug Targeting: Preclinical in Vivo Studies, Mathematical Modeling, and Extrapolation to Humans.
in Nano letters
Al-Jamal KT
(2013)
Cationic poly-L-lysine dendrimer complexes doxorubicin and delays tumor growth in vitro and in vivo.
in ACS nano
Bai J
(2016)
Real-time monitoring of magnetic drug targeting using fibered confocal fluorescence microscopy.
in Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society
Bai J
(2016)
Triple-Modal Imaging of Magnetically-Targeted Nanocapsules in Solid Tumours In Vivo.
in Theranostics
Battigelli A
(2013)
Ammonium and guanidinium dendron-carbon nanotubes by amidation and click chemistry and their use for siRNA delivery.
in Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Battigelli A
(2013)
Peptide-based carbon nanotubes for mitochondrial targeting.
in Nanoscale
Bin Mohamed Suffian IF
(2017)
Yield Optimisation of Hepatitis B Virus Core Particles in E. coli Expression System for Drug Delivery Applications.
in Scientific reports
Cabana L
(2016)
The Shortening of MWNT-SPION Hybrids by Steam Treatment Improves Their Magnetic Resonance Imaging Properties In Vitro and In Vivo.
in Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)
Costa PM
(2018)
Functionalised Carbon Nanotubes Enhance Brain Delivery of Amyloid-Targeting Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB)-Derived Ligands.
in Nanotheranostics
Costa PM
(2016)
Functionalised carbon nanotubes: From intracellular uptake and cell-related toxicity to systemic brain delivery.
in Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society
Faruqu FN
(2018)
Preparation of Exosomes for siRNA Delivery to Cancer Cells.
in Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE
Gajewska A
(2021)
Functionalization of filled radioactive multi-walled carbon nanocapsules by arylation reaction for in vivo delivery of radio-therapy.
in Journal of materials chemistry. B
Han S
(2023)
Combined Facile Synthesis, Purification, and Surface Functionalization Approach Yields Monodispersed Gold Nanorods for Drug Delivery Applications
in Particle & Particle Systems Characterization
Han S
(2023)
Spatiotemporal tracking of gold nanorods after intranasal administration for brain targeting.
in Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society
Hassan HA
(2016)
Carbon nanotubes' surface chemistry determines their potency as vaccine nanocarriers in vitro and in vivo.
in Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society
Hassan HAFM
(2019)
Application of carbon nanotubes in cancer vaccines: Achievements, challenges and chances.
in Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society
Hodgins NO
(2016)
In vitro potency, in vitro and in vivo efficacy of liposomal alendronate in combination with ?d T cell immunotherapy in mice.
in Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society
Hodgins NO
(2017)
Investigating in vitro and in vivo avß6 integrin receptor-targeting liposomal alendronate for combinatory ?d T cell immunotherapy.
in Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society
Hodgins NO
(2017)
Nano-technology based carriers for nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates delivery as sensitisers of ?d T cells for anticancer immunotherapy.
in Advanced drug delivery reviews
Kafa H
(2016)
Translocation of LRP1 targeted carbon nanotubes of different diameters across the blood-brain barrier in vitro and in vivo.
in Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society
Kafa H
(2015)
The interaction of carbon nanotubes with an in vitro blood-brain barrier model and mouse brain in vivo.
in Biomaterials
Description | Angiopep peptide conjugating to CNT increased the brain uptake and resulted in glioma targeting in mouse brain following intravenous injection. |
Exploitation Route | Further incorporation with therapeutic agents using the developed nanocarrier system can be explored for glioma therapy. |
Sectors | Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Description | BBSRC Spark Impact |
Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | N/A |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2015 |
End | 04/2016 |
Description | CRUK KHP Centre Development Fund |
Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | King's College London |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2018 |
End | 12/2018 |
Description | China Scholarship Council Postdoctoral Fellowship |
Amount | £60,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Leeds |
Department | China Scholarship Council |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2017 |
End | 09/2018 |
Description | KC Wong Postdoctoral Fellowship |
Amount | £58,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | King's College London |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2016 |
End | 09/2017 |
Description | Katip Celebi Newton Fund |
Amount | £264,338 (GBP) |
Organisation | British Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2017 |
End | 05/2019 |
Description | Marie Sklodowska-Curie individual Fellowships |
Amount | € 183,455 (EUR) |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 09/2017 |
End | 09/2019 |
Description | New Ideas Awards |
Amount | £98,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | The Brain Tumour Charity |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2017 |
End | 06/2018 |
Description | Newton Bhabha |
Amount | £12,800 (GBP) |
Funding ID | N/A |
Organisation | British Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2015 |
End | 12/2015 |
Description | Newton-Bhabha Fellowship |
Amount | £10,200 (GBP) |
Organisation | British Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2017 |
End | 08/2017 |
Description | Newton-Musharafa Fellowship |
Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | British Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2018 |
End | 03/2020 |
Description | Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship |
Amount | £250,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
Department | Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2014 |
End | 09/2018 |
Description | UKEIRI-DST |
Amount | £22,128 (GBP) |
Funding ID | UKIERI-DST-2014-15-09 |
Organisation | British Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2015 |
End | 03/2016 |
Description | Marie Curie Actions ITN FP7 PEOPLE |
Organisation | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions |
Country | Global |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | In vivo biodistribution and tumour therapy studies of samarium filled carbon nanotubes in mice. |
Collaborator Contribution | Synthesis, functionalisation and characterisation of samarium filled carbon nanotubes. |
Impact | N/A |
Start Year | 2012 |
Description | Microfluidics-based BBB |
Organisation | National Chung-Hsing University |
Department | Department of Mechanical Engineering |
Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Our support include providing the brain cells to establish the blood-brain barrier cell model, help in the design and analysis of experiments, and contribution to iterative refinement of the programme needed to generate the most reliable information about the behaviour of the delivery vehicles at the blood-brain barrier. |
Collaborator Contribution | Develop and standardise the novel microfluidic-based blood-brain barrier device which is designed for high-throughput drug screening. Key advances include real-time monitoring of BBB integrity and measurement of drug permeability. |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary collaboration: Engineering, Neuronal science, Pharmaceutics and Nanomedicine. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | UKEIRI-DST |
Organisation | Dibrugarh University |
Country | India |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | This scheme is established between KCL (UK partner) and Dibrugarh University (India) to work on the project entitled "Development of biodegradable CNS-targeted nanoparticles as a novel therapeutic approach in chemotherapy of Neuro-AIDS". KCL contribution has been to train young researchers on optimisation of the nanoparticles formulation, radiolabeling, testing blood brain barrier crossing in vitro and in vivo, in addition to tumour accumulation studies in mice. |
Collaborator Contribution | They provided solid lipid nanoparticles to our team and also will host 3 members of UK team to visit their lab. |
Impact | N/A |
Start Year | 2015 |
Title | Nanoparticles |
Description | The discovery cover a type of polymeric nanoparticles containing high amounts of magnetic nanoparticles for the purpose of magnetic targeting of anticancer drugs to solid tumours. The nanoparticles could be used for therapy and/or imaging. |
IP Reference | GB1520637.8 |
Protection | Patent application published |
Year Protection Granted | 2015 |
Licensed | No |
Impact | Too early. |
Description | 11th European and Global Summit for Clinical Nanomedicine (CLINAM) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A few people from my group including myself attended this annual conference focusing on developing nanomecines for clinical translation. We presented our work in different research topics either by oral or poster presentations. I gave a talk entitled 'Magnetic Drug Targeting: Preclinical in Vivo Studies, Mathematical Modelling, and Extrapolation to Human'. My post doc LiZhou Xu gave a talk entitled 'Optical Tracking of siRNA Encapsulated Exosomes in Cancer Models in Vitro and in Vivo'. My post doc Julie Wang gave a talk entitled 'Imaging Carbon Nanotubes: Journey from Basic Understanding of the Carrier Biodistribution to Alzheimer's disease Monitoring'. My post doc Adam Walter had a poster presentation entitled Sugar-functionalised and Far-red Fluorescence Emitting Graphene Oxide for Antigen Delivery and Monitoring. My PhD student Farid Faraquhad a poster presentation with the title 'Membrane Radiolabelling of Exosomes for Comparative Biodistribution Analysis in Immunocompetent and Immunodeficient Mice - a Novel and Universal Approach'. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.clinam.org/ |
Description | 11th Global Drug Delivery and Formulation Summtt |
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 an invited speak in the Panel discussion and gave a talk entitled 'Designer Nanomedicine for Cancer Therapy'. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.ddfevent.com/ |
Description | AICR Open Day @ Kings College London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Supporters |
Results and Impact | I gave a presentation on the research carried out from my group. In the hands-on session, my research team demonstrated how to purify nanoparticles by the size and provided a microscope for cancer tissue observation. Numerous attendees of the event commented that the quality of the research presented, the enthusiasm of participants and the overall positive buzz made it an enjoyable afternoon. Undergraduate students in particular contributed to the day and felt the importance of research which they never realised before. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Bilkent University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited speaker, "Rationale Design of Nanocarriers for Brain and Cancer Targeting", Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey (Host: Dr Dönüs Tuncel) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | CBTDDC |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Round table discussion, "Nanomedicine at King's", Children's Brain Tumour Drug Delivery Consortium (CBTDDC) Workshop (Host: Prof. David Walker) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.cbtddc.org/workshop/index.aspx |
Description | COST Action CA17140 Riga, Latvia |
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 an invited speaker (Host: Prof. Barbara Klajnert) and I gave a talk entitled "Exosome-Mediated RNAi of PAK4 Prolongs Survival of Pancreatic Cancer Mouse Model After Loco-regional Treatment" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | COST Action TD1004 Annual meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, 2015 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | My PhD students Naomi Hodgins and Jie Bai gave 2 talks: 1. The effect of Liposomal Zoledronic acid on the Biodistribution of ?d T cells in different tumour models". 2. Multi-modal imaging of magnetic nanocapsules in tumours Talks attracted interest and stimulated questions that are helpful for their PhD project. EU contribution and further opportunities to Horizon 2020 funding |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
Description | Editorial Board Member-Biomaterial Science |
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 am elected as an editorial Board Member for the journal Biomaterial Science (Royal Society of Chemistry). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | International Conference of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | I am an invited speaker (Host: Dr. Nadia Hamdy). The title of my talk is "Magnetic Drug Targeting". |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Interview for London Centre for Nanotechnology |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | An interview was taken in my lab to mark King's joining with the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) to use the power of nanotechnology to confront global healthcare, energy and environmental challenges. The film has been publicised at LCN August New (https://etio.wistia.com/medias/11jsmp8kd9). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.london-nano.com/news-events/kings-college-london-joins-powerhouse-nanotechnology-researc... |
Description | Invited speaker-12th CLINAM |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | I presented the research work 'Exosomes: as Dual Pancreatic Cancer Therapy and Diagnosis' in the 12th meeting organised by the European Foundation for Clinical Nanomedicine (CLINAM). My research fellow Dr. Julie Tzu-Wen Wang also gave a talk 'Developing Polymeric Nanoformulation for Neurodegenerative Disorders via Intranasal Delivery'. Dr Adam Walters, a Maplethrope Research and Teaching Fellow and Miss Dina Helal, a joint PhD student between KCL and Ain Shams University (Egypt), have won poster prizes out of total 57 poster submission. Dr Walters won the 1st position in the Translational nanomedicine category (Title: The development of a novel dual targeting nucleic acid-based immunotherapy for treatment of tumours) while Miss Helal won the 2nd position in the Basic Science Nanomedicine category (Title: Temozolomide acid loaded nanoparticles: a protein-based platform for glioma therapy). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.clinam.org/ |
Description | Invited speaker-DDF summit |
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 a presentation "Designer Nanomedicine for Cancer Therapy" at the 11th Global Drug Delivery & Formulation Summit in Berlin, Germany. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Invited speaker-Edge Hill University |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk "Exosomes in Pancreatic Cancer: From Early Detection to Therapeutics Delivery" at Edge Hill University. (Host: Dr. Aristides Tagalakis) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Invited speaker-MRC-DTP potential students |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | I gave a talk "An example of a successful female scientist" in an outreach event to MRC-DTP potential students in Oct 2020. The event is organised by Faculty of Life Science and Medicine, King's College London, UK. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Invited speaker-Neuro-oncology away day KHP |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk "Developing nanomedicines to neurooncology applications" on the Neuro-oncology away day, King's Health Partners. (Host: Dr Jo Jarosz and Mr Francesco Vergani) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Invited speaker-Randall's Division |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk "Designer Nanomedicine for Cancer Immunotherapy" in the seminar series over Randall's Division, King's College London. (Host: Prof. Franca Fraternali) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Invited speaker-STEP association |
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 a keynote lecture "Presenting a Successful Model of Muslim Women Involved in the Field of Science and Technology World-Wide", organised by the Science and Technology Exchange Programme association, Tehran. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | London Centre for Nanotechnology Welcome KCL |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | The London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) is a UK-based multidisciplinary research enterprise operating at the forefront of science and technology that was founded in 2003 by University College London and Imperial College London. King's College London is now joining this venture. Each of these institutions is a world leader in Nanoscience and our purpose is to solve global problems in data driven economy, healthcare, energy and environment through the application of nanotechnology. With King's joining the LCN, the most talented researchers will be working in Central London and using cutting edge equipment. Collaborations will have the opportunity to flourish and pioneering discoveries have the potential to be made. To celebrate joining the LCN, King's College London is hosting a launch event on the 3rd September 2018 in the Great Hall at our historic Strand Campus. My group as a partner of the LCN has an exhibition to showcase our work. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.london-nano.com/news-events/kings-college-london-joins-powerhouse-nanotechnology-researc... |
Description | Max-Planck Institutes for Chemistry (MPIC) and for Polymer Research |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited speaker, "Applications of Nanomedicines in Pancreatic Cancer", Max-Planck Institutes for Chemistry (MPIC) and for Polymer Research (MPIP), Mainz, Germany. (Host: Prof. Volker Mailaender) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | MedBioMed board member |
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 am elected as an International Board Member for the journal MedBioMed (Wiley). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Midatech Pharma |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Industrial seminar, "From Nanocarrier Design to Cell Trafficking and In Vivo Biodistribution", Midatech Pharma, UK (Host: Dr Kelly Conlon) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | NC3Rs Review Panel |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | I am elected as NC3Rs CRACK IT Review Panel member. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | NanoFar Autumn School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | My PhD student Naomi Hodgins attended this Autumn School workshop and had a poster presentation entitled 'Novel ErbB targeted liposomes encapsulating zoledronic acid for breast cancer immunotherapy'. EU contribution. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | NanoFar Autumn School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | My PhD student Jie Bai attended this Autumn School workshop and presented a poster entitled 'Polymeric Nanocapsule for Triple-modal Imaging as A Theranostic System in Cancer Therapy'. She was awarded the Best Poster prize. EU contribution. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Nanomedicine Summer School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | The Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher, Dr Rebecca Klippstein, presented her work entitled 'Assesment of candidate drugs and cell lines for nanoparticle specific tumour targeting'. EU contribution |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Nanomedicine Summer School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Elzbieta Pach, a Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher, of my collaborator Dr Ballesteros in Spain, gave a presentation entitled 'Electron Microscopy Studies of Carbon Nanocapsules for Targeted Delivery of Radioactivity' based on our joint project. Laura Cabana, a PhD student of my collaborator Dr Tobias in Spain, gave a presentation entitled 'Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes with different lengths decorated with SPION' based on our joint project. The Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher, Maxime Bourgognon, from my group gave a presentation entitled 'The shortening of SPION-MWNTs enhances their biocompatibility and MR properties'. EU contribution. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Pancreatic Cancer Symposium |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited speaker, "Applications of Nanomedicines in Pancreatic Cancer", Pancreatic Cancer Symposium, Guy's Cancer centre, KCL. (Host: Dr Claire Wells) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Queen's University Invited Talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | I gave a talk on "Uptake of chemically functionalised nanotubes across the blood brain barrier at Queen's University, Belfast. I was invited by Prof. Ryan Donnelly the leader of the Research Seminar Programme at Queen's. They invite leading scientists from across the globe to visit the University and give a seminar on their work. Over the past few years, other renowned speakers like Richard Guy, Kevin Shakesheff, Clive Wilson and Robert Lochhead (inventor of Carbopol®, designed surfactant formulations for management of the oil spill in the gulf of New Mexico and heat-resistant camouflage for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan) speak about their research. The talk stimulated discussions and initiated collaborations between the 2 universities. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
Description | School seminar Cardiff University |
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 an invited speaker (Host: Dr Youcef Mehellou, School of Pharmacy, Cardiff University) to give a talk entitled "Rationale Design of Nanocarriers for Brain and Cancer Targeting". |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Science and Technology Exchange Programme |
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 an invited speaker to give a keynote lecture entitled "Presenting a Successful Model of Muslim Women Involved in the Field of Science and Technology World-Wide". Host: Science Technology Exchange Programme (STEP association), Tehran |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Women in Science Symposium, King's College London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | I was an invited speak in this College event in celebrating the International Women's Day. The talk of my title is 'Challenges and Opportunities for Women in Science' |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |