Alliance for NanoHealth
The Alliance for NanoHealth is a collaborative effort between University of Texas Health Science Center – Houston, Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine, M.D. Anderson Center, University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, University of Houston, Texas A&M Health Science Center/Institute for Biotechnology, and the Methodist Hospital Research Institute to research and develop the medical applications of nanotechnology. The Alliance, with the help of the Houston Congressional delegation and Texas Governor Rick Perry, recruited the National Cancer Institute’s Eminent Scholar and Special Expert on Nanotechnology - Dr. Mauro Ferrari - to come to Houston to serve as its Executive Director. Dr. Ferrari is a pioneer of biomedical nano-and-micro-technology applications to medical therapeutics in sectors such as drug delivery, proteomic nanotechnology, cell transplantation, and tissue engineering. Dr. Ferrari is an immense asset to the Texas medical communities and will boost Houston into the first tier of federal research award winning cities.
Dr. Naomi Halas and Dr. Jennifer West, researchers at Rice University, are working on a cure for cancer that involves gold nanoshells. They have discovered a way to attach a tiny shell of gold to a protein that, when injected into the blood steam of a cancer patient, would seek out and bind to the multiplying cancer cells. When a harmless infrared light is shone through the patient’s body, it passes through the body except for the gold nanoshells with cancer cells bound to them. The infrared light then heats the nanoshells to a temperature that kills the cells without damage to adjacent non-cancerous cells. It has proven to be effective in rats and mice. This year, Dr. West, will begin clinical trials in humans at University of Health Science Center - San Antonio.
The Alliance is working on further research including the use of nanotechnology to reduce the size of medical devices like pacemakers and hearing aids. They are also studying targeting drugs similar to Dr. Halas’ and Dr. West's research. For example, drugs like Vioxx could be targeted to your arthritic joints to relieve pain, but not to your heart where it may cause damage. Focusing on this research will bring the Alliance for NanoHealth closer to reaching the ultimate goal of preventing and curing disease.