MIT-Harvard CCNE Collaborator Awarded with Nobel Prize in Medicine

This year's Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three scientists - Drs. Jack W. Szostak, Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol W. Greider. The laureates have solved a major problem in biology: how the chromosomes can be copied in a complete way during cell divisions and how they are protected against degradation. The Nobel Laureates have shown that the solution is to be found in the ends of the chromosomes - the telomeres - and in an enzyme that forms them - telomerase. Read more about the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine winners.

Dr. Szostak has ties to the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer through collaborations with Drs. Omid Farokhzad and Robert Langer at MIT-Harvard and the project dedicated to "Targeted Polymeric Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapeutic Applications". The goal of this project is to develop targeted polymeric nanoparticles for in vivo targeted delivery of cytotoxic, drug-encapsulated, controlled-release to cancer cells. This novel approach allows for a large amount of drug to be delivered to cancer cells and make it possible to reach a steady state cytotoxic drug concentration at the tumor site over an extended period of time. Dr. Szostak who is also a pioneer of aptamer technology has been involved in designing and optimizing the use of these novel classes of molecules for cancer therapy in support of CCNE project. Learn more about the MIT-Harvard Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence.