Using tiny particles to boost recovery from open-heart surgery
Published on: 6 November 2024
Wolfram Group
Nanomedicine and extracellular vesicle research program with the goal of developing innovative approaches that bring the next generation of treatments and diagnostics directly to the clinic.
Mission
- Develop a new paradigm of therapeutics (using nanotechnology and cell products) to treat life-threatening diseases that are major causes of death globally, including cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, and breast cancer
- Save lives by manufacturing at scale - Deliver national manufacturing innovation and a skilled workforce
- Work with a multidisciplinary team and industry partners to position Australia as a global leader in extracellular vesicle medicine
Extracellular vesicles are small biomolecular packages (released locally and systemically) that are crucial for intercellular communication. Extracellular vesicles have promising potential to be leveraged and engineered to provide a paradigm shift in cell-free therapy. Unresolved challenges in the field include scalable manufacturing, understanding therapeutic/pathological mechanisms, and capacity to use extracellular vesicles for drug delivery. The Wolfram Laboratory is leveraging innovations in manufacturing, biological mechanisms, and drug loading of extracellular vesicles to develop therapeutics to alter the trajectory of disease, improve patient outcomes, and prolong healthy lifespan.
Research Areas
- Nanomedicine
- Extracellular vesicless
- Breast cancer
- Cancer immunoevasion
- Cardiovascular disease
- Aging
Research Approach
The research program has three main focus areas:
- Developing improved methods for extracellular vesicle isolation from human biofluids
- Designing hybrid drug delivery systems with extracellular vesicle and synthetic components for a 'best-of-both-worlds' approach to treat cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease
- Understanding the role of extracellular vesicles in cancer immunoevasion and metastasis
Ted Talk: How nanoparticles could change the way we treat cancer
