Note: This is a hybrid event; to attend online, use the Zoom Meeting ID: 919 5918 2879 and Passcode: 270887.
Abstract: Nanomedicine, the application of nanomaterials to the field of medicine, holds the potential to significantly improve human health ranging from more effective cancer treatments to novel medical imaging contrast agents for improved diagnoses. Nanomedicines have engineered properties that enable them to behave differently in vivo compared to small molecule drugs. Because of their nanometer length scale, nanomedicines can interact with cells and tissues in a unique fashion.
The Pinkerton Research Group creates highly engineered nanomaterials using scalable methods to address cancer and pain. We use tools from chemistry, nanotechnology, immunoncology and chemical engineering to build and discover structure-property relationships in new materials designed to interact specifically with the tumor microenvironment, including immune cells and sensory neurons. Our nanoparticles are designed for precise interactions by (1) building in spatiotemporal control of drug release through two-photon near infrared light response capabilities, (2) optimizing nanoparticle physicochemical properties for selective cellular uptake and (3) delivering of a wide range of therapeutic cargos. In this presentation, I will discuss my groups preliminary advances these areas with emphasis on our nanoparticle assembly techniques, flash nanoprecipitation and sequential nanoprecipitation, which enables us to decouple several key nanoparticle attributes and build nanoparticle libraries.
Bio: Dr. Nathalie Pinkerton joined the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department at NYU Tandon School of Engineering as an assistant professor in 2020. Dr. Pinkerton received her bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT. She went on to receive her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, where she worked under the guidance of Dr. Robert K. Prud’homme developing new designs and processing methods for polymeric drug delivery vehicles and imaging agents. While at Princeton, Dr. Pinkerton was a Francis Upton Fellow and received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship. After graduation, Nathalie was a postdoctoral fellow at at L’Institut des Technologies Avancées en sciences du Vivant (ITAV), an interdisciplinary CNRS research institute in Toulouse, France. There she was part of two research groups, Dr. Stefan Chassaing’s organic chemistry group and Dr. Bernard Ducommun cancer biology group. At ITAV, she studied light-catalyzed reactions, developed tools to evaluate nano-bio interactions in 3D tumor models, and continued to develop scalable synthetic techniques for nanoparticle-based imaging agents. While at ITAV, she received a Recherche et Innovation Thérapeutique en Cancérologie (RITC) foundation fellowship. In 2016, she was recruited to Pfizer’s Early Discovery Oncology Research Unit to help establish their new cancer nanomedicine research team. As a senior scientist and research project leader, she led two cross-functional teams focused on developing nanoparticle-based cancer therapies. While at Pfizer, Nathalie was a recipient of the Pfizer W.E. Upjohn Prize in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Currently, Nathalie leads an interdisciplinary research lab focused on the conception, development, and translation of highly engineered nanomaterials for the detection and treatment of disease with a focus on cancer and pain.