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Tech Valley News
Exploring New Uses of Nanotechnology
Shaker A. Mousa, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research Institute (PRI) at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, was recently awarded a $372,680 research grant from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Mousa and a team of PRI investigators will use nanotechnology to explore new approaches for managing thyroid activity in patients suffering from breast cancer. The research will take place over a period of two years.
The thyroid naturally produces hormones that help regulate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature and weight. Unfortunately, these hormones also accelerate tumor growth in cancer patients by stimulating blood vessels. Medication can decrease the production of thyroid hormones (thyroxine and triiodothyronine), thereby helping limit the spread of the cancer, but such an approach will impact vital hormonal function.
By allowing hormone production to occur at a normal rate, regular body activity may continue uninterrupted, but at the risk of the cancer spreading more quickly throughout the body. Dr. Mousa is exploring an approach that will allow normal thyroid activity to take place in cancer patients while eliminating the adverse effects related to the spread of the disease.
“The continued evolution of nanotechnology is now allowing the scientific and medical communities to rethink what is possible in terms of treating patients and preventing disease,” said Dr. Mousa. “We expect that the results of our research will not only impact patients suffering from breast cancer, but those suffering from other forms of cancer as well.”
“In the last decade, ACPHS has placed an increased emphasis on research, through investments in our laboratory facilities, development of a master’s program in pharmaceutical sciences and the cultivation of faculty and student research activities. We now have more than $7.1 million in active research grants, contracts, and awards, and we expect that figure to increase dramatically in the future,” said James Gozzo, Ph.D., President of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
PRI employs nearly 50 international experts in fields such as nanotechnology, medicinal chemistry, molecular biology and cell biology. The Institute includes the Center for NanoPharmaceuticals, where investigators attack diseases ranging from cancer to macular degeneration with nanotechnology – using particles 10,000 times smaller than a human hair to steer drugs to exact targets, thereby minimizing risks and side effects.
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