The Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) Mechanochemical Dynamic Therapy (MDT) working group held its first workshop on May 21 to promote collaboration among researchers. The working group is housed in the CCIL’s Cancer Measurement Technology and Data Science (CMD) Program and was formed to develop MDT, a new ultrasound-based cancer treatment.
This year’s workshop focused on MDT and prostate cancer and featured a keynote presentation by Tanya Stoyanova, associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the University of California, Los Angeles. CCIL postdoctoral researchers Jian Wang (Moore group) and Xingxing Wang (Chen group) gave this year’s working group presentations.
CCIL Member Yun-Sheng Chen introduced Mechanochemical Dynamic Therapy (MDT) and the MDT workshop speakers
Postdoctoral researcher Xingxing Wang presents research on ultrasound induced reactive oxygen species and prostate cancer
MDT is a new therapeutic technique invented by CCIL professors that seeks to improve upon similar existing methods by incorporating mechanically responsive materials into the drug design which enable the use of safe, low intensity ultrasound. The working group is comprised of interdisciplinary researchers including CCIL members who each bring their own expert knowledge. Yun-Sheng Chen is an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering with expertise in developing biomedical imaging techniques and nanomedicines. Jeff Moore is a professor of chemistry who researches polymeric materials that use mechanical stress as to trigger downstream effects. Michael Oelze is a professor in electrical and computer engineering and specializes in developing ultrasound-based technologies to improve cancer diagnosis, monitoring and treatment.
Developing novel cancer therapies is not a small task and requires important studies ranging from basic tumor biology research to engineering. Through interdisciplinary collaborations like the MDT working group, CCIL researchers continue to innovate and translate new technologies to treat cancer.
Editor’s notes:
This story was written by Katie Brady, CCIL Communications Intern.