Neuroprotection and cancer therapeutics using natural products and nanotechnology

Our laboratory has several research projects in Neuroprotection and Lung cancer.

Within the field of neuroprotection, we have three main research projects:

1) A synthetic strategy for neuroprotection using smart nanoparticles with protective drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier. In these studies, we use a pilocarpine epilepsy mouse model, ex vivo, and in vitro methodologies to test the drug’s effectivity.

2) A natural strategy for neuroprotection using tobacco-derived cembranoids, which naturally cross the blood-brain barrier. In these studies, to test our neuroprotective compound’s effect in decreasing stroke infarct size, we use a stroke rat model called the tMCAO method. We also use ex-vivo and in-vitro methods to understand the drug’s molecular mechanisms.

3) The study of a platelet-abundant immunoreceptor called Trem-Like Transcript-1 (TLT-1) and its role in brain cells after neuroinflammation. For these studies, we use brain tissue histology, TLT-1 knockout mice, cell culture, and Molecular Biology techniques to start understanding the role of this enigmatic receptor and its soluble fragment in brain cells.

In our lung-carcinoma-related projects:

1) We use a syngeneic mouse model called the Lewis Lung Carcinoma, which is an immune-competent mouse system to study tumorigenesis. To target NSCLC, we are testing several strategies, such as using natural products to decrease tumor growth via nicotinic inhibition, or designing targeted nanoparticles delivering drugs that induce cell death into the tumor cells. Using non-toxic drugs such as cembranoids, or bio-compatible, targeted drug delivery systems, we aim to improve treatments against lung carcinoma which can be used alone or as adjuvant therapies.