Research I Our Collaborators
Our Mission
Intensive research in such areas as:
Nanomedicine – pharmaceutical nanocarriers with controllable properties for delivery and targeting of water-soluble and water-insoluble drugs, DNA, and diagnostic agents to various disease sites.
Intracellular drug delivery – the use of cell penetrating peptides for delivery of drugs and DNA directly into the cell cytoplasm bypassing the endocytic pathway and increasing the efficiency of therapies.
Experimental cancer immunotherapy – the research in the area of tumor- specific antibodies and the use of these antibodies for specific delivery of drugs and diagnostic agents to tumors.
Combination therapy of cancer – research in the area of combined cancer therapy involving physical methods, such as radiofrequency ablation or thermal ablation, and traditional chemotherapy with the use of pharmaceutical nanocarriers.
Novel imaging agents – engineering on new contrast agents for gammaimaging and magnetic resonance imaging of various pathologies including cancer by using a combination of disease-specific monoclonal antibodies and pharmaceutical nanocarriers.
Training domestic and international students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting scientists for future academic, industrial, and medical studies.
Active collaboration with academic, medical, and industrial institutions in the Boston area, throughout the U.S., and abroad. Current collaborations within the U.S. include Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Hospital, Tufts University, Auburn University, Louisiana Tech, and outside the U.S. We have collaborative projects with universities in Italy, Russia, Argentina, Turkey, Spain, Ireland, and Israel.
The NIH-funded Northeastern University Center for Translational Cancer Nanomedicine (CTCN) was established in September 2010 as part of Phase 2 of the National Cancer Institute’s Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer program with collaborators at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital; Harvard Medical School; Tufts University, Auburn University and Nemucore Medical Innovations, Inc. The CTCN is utilizing the support and facilities of the NU-based Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing. Northeastern University CTCN is one of nine Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) across the country that has been awarded a five-year $13.5 million grant from the NCI Alliance in an open nationwide competition. The Center is leading by Principal Investigator, Vladimir Torchilin, Ph.D., D.Sc, and Co-Principal Investigator, Nahum Goldberg, M.D. CTCN website
CTCN Advisory Board Meeting with NCI staff members at the Annual CCNE Site Visit