This research investigates how cells select which protein fragments, or peptides, to display to the immune system. Contrary to previous assumptions, peptide presentation appears highly curated rather than random. Understanding these selection rules could improve cancer immunotherapy, enhance antiviral treatments, and provide new insights into autoimmune diseases.

This research investigates how glioblastoma brain cancer cells invade healthy brain tissue. Using patient-derived tumor organoids and traction force microscopy, the study measures how cancer cells generate and apply forces to move through the brain. Understanding these invasion mechanisms could help develop therapies that slow tumor spread and improve patient survival.

This research develops “nanozymes,” nanoparticle-based catalysts that activate cancer drugs directly at tumor sites. Instead of carrying large amounts of chemotherapy drugs, nanozymes locally trigger inactive drugs into their active form only within cancer tissue. Early mouse studies show effective tumor destruction with significantly reduced side effects compared to conventional chemotherapy.

This research develops nanoscale “smart package” delivery systems for PROTAC cancer drugs. Antibody nanogel conjugates selectively target cancer cells, enter them, and release therapeutic molecules while minimizing exposure to healthy tissue. The approach improves delivery efficiency and aims to reduce the severe side effects that often limit cancer treatment.

This research develops an inhalable treatment for lung infections using nanocrystalline silver with both antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. By adapting proven skin-based technology for respiratory delivery via nebulization, it targets both pathogens and harmful inflammation, addressing a major gap in lung disease treatment affecting over a billion people worldwide.

This research targets rare genetic diseases caused by frameshift mutations using antisense oligonucleotides as “genetic band-aids.” By masking faulty DNA segments, it restores functional protein production. Demonstrated in muscular dystrophy models, this approach offers a scalable strategy to treat multiple rare diseases, addressing a major gap where most conditions lack effective therapies.

This research explores how immune-related cells and molecules, beneficial in wound healing, may become harmful in Parkinson’s disease. Using the fruit fly as a model organism, the study investigates which inflammatory processes contribute to brain damage. Early results suggest that excessive activation worsens degeneration, offering potential targets for future therapies.

This research investigates how melanoma switches between two gene states—one fast-growing and treatable, the other slow but highly invasive and responsible for brain metastases. By identifying genes that control this transition, the study aims to force melanoma into a more treatable form, improving therapeutic options and patient outcomes.

Liver cancer alters how cells use sugar long before tumors are visible. This research makes sugar detectable by MRI, allowing real-time imaging of cancer metabolism inside the liver. By revealing how tumors process energy differently from healthy tissue, the technique could enable earlier diagnosis, monitor treatment response, and improve patient survival.

Genetic cardiomyopathies arise from DNA errors that disrupt vital heart proteins and can be fatal in childhood. This research improves heart-targeted gene therapy by guiding treatments through the bloodstream using chemokine “traffic signals” and avoiding immune interference, enabling therapies to reach the heart more efficiently and potentially cure inherited heart disease.