Seminari VHIR - Dra. Joy-Emelie Wolfram "Diagnostic and therapeutic biogenic nanoparticles"

Dra. Joy-Emelie Wolfram - Assistant Prof. of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. Affiliate faculty positions in the Department of Nanomedicine at the Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas and Dept. of Biology at the University of North Florida USA

"Diagnostic and therapeutic biogenic nanoparticles"

Patients are dying every second! We need new and innovative solutions for early detection and treatment of diseases. As the director of the Nanomedicine and Extracellular Vesicles Laboratory at Mayo Clinic, my goal is to develop innovative nanomedicines that bring the next generation of cancer and regenerative treatments directly to the clinic. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are naturally occurring nanoparticles that are secreted by all cells and serve important roles in physiological and pathological processes. Therefore, EVs have promising applications as therapeutic agents, drug targets, delivery vehicles, and biomarkers. Although the medical use of EVs is promising, clinical translation has been hindered due to inefficient and non-scalable methods of isolation, e.g. ultracentrifugation (UC). To overcome these issues, we have optimized a robust and scalable tangential flow filtration-based method for isolation of EVs. This technique has opened up many opportunities for diagnostic and therapeutic use of EVs, two of which will be highlighted in this talk: i) lipoaspirate-derived EVs for treating inflammation and ii) understanding the role and application of the EV glycome in metastatic disease.

CV: Dr. Joy Wolfram is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Florida and holds affiliate faculty positions in the Department of Nanomedicine at the Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas and in the Department of Biology at the University of North Florida. She is also the representative for the Education and Outreach Unit of the Center for Immunotherapeutic Transport Oncophysics of the National Cancer Institute at the Houston Methodist Research Institute. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees in biology from the University of Helsinki in Finland. In 2016, she completed her Ph.D. in Nanoscience and Technology at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. She has authored over 40 publications and received more than 25 scientific awards from seven different countries. In 2016, she was included in the Amgen Scholars Ten to Watch List, which highlights the best and brightest up-and-comers in science and medicine across 42 countries. In 2017, she was selected together with Nobel Laureates, prominent authors, and professional athletes to represent one of 12 internationally accomplished Finns in the 2017 Inspired in Finland campaign to celebrate Finland's 100 years of independence. The focus of her research is on nanotherapeutics, extracellular vesicles, and modulation of innate immunity. Her ultimate goal is to bring new treatment strategies in nanomedicine to the clinic. She also aspires to generate fruitful inter-institutional research collaborations around the world.

Host: CIBBIM-Nanomedicina. Direccionament i Alliberament Farmacològic - simo.schwartz@vhir.org