International Research Chemistry Awards

  In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, UCLA scientists have shown it's possible to reprogram a patient's blood-forming stem cells to generate a continuous supply of functional T cells, the immune system's most powerful cancer-killing agents. This approach suggests a new way to deliver immunotherapy , acting as an internal factory that produces tumor-targeting immune cells over time and potentially offering longer-lasting protection. This early-stage study, published in Nature Communications and led by physician-scientist Dr. Theodore Scott Nowicki in collaboration with Dr. Antoni Ribas, Dr. Owen Witte, Dr. Donald Kohn, Dr. Lili Yang of UCLA, and Dr. David Baltimore from the California Institute of Technology, represents a novel strategy for treating hard-to-treat cancers , especially solid tumors that have proved to be more resistant to conventional T cell therapies. Nowicki, assistant professor-in-residence of pediatric hematology/oncology and microbiology, immunology, a...

  A research team in South Korea has successfully developed a novel technology that combines nanoparticles with stem cells to significantly improve 3D bone tissue regeneration. This advancement marks a major step forward in the treatment of bone fractures and injuries, as well as in next-generation regenerative medicine . Dr. Ki Young Kim and her team at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), in collaboration with Professor Laura Ha at Sunmoon University, have engineered a nanoparticle-stem cell hybrid, termed a nanobiohybrid by integrating mesoporous silica nanoparticles (mSiO₂ NPs) with human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADMSCs). The resulting hybrid cells demonstrated markedly enhanced osteogenic (bone-forming) capability. Three-dimensional stem cell aggregates such as spheroids and organoids have long been used to mimic organ and tissue structures. However, they have suffered from core cell death and non-uniform differentiation due to poor oxyg...

  The malignant pediatric brain tumor medulloblastoma is driven by proteins deep within the cancer cells, for which there are often no effective drugs available. Researchers at Uppsala University have identified a new genetic technique that enables targeting of tumor cells with elevated levels of such proteins. The technique could be used to eliminate cells responsible for tumor relapse. The hope is to develop an effective drug against recurrence of this disease within a few years. Medulloblastoma is the most common form of malignant brain tumor in children and can often be cured with surgery , radiation, and chemotherapy. However, while this standard treatment can be effective in three out of four cases, it also affects normal cells in the growing brains of children, often leading to lifelong side effects. In some cases, resistance to standard therapy develops, causing relapse, which is strongly associated with increased mortality. Works like a Trojan horse Fredrik Swartling, a re...

  In this study, led by Nahid Shahabadi from Razi University in Kermanshah, researchers developed an environmentally friendly approach to enhance the performance of cidofovir, a drug used to treat infections caused by DNA viruses. The work responds to the growing need for therapies that are safer, more effective, and better targeted. The research team developed a new compound by loading cidofovir onto green-synthesized cerium oxide nanoparticles (nanoceria), known as CDV-CeO2 NPs. This method combines the drug's antiviral and anticancer properties with the biological activity of nanoceria, which is known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and tumor-targeting effects. To avoid toxic chemicals , the nanoparticles were synthesized using quince fruit peel extract, making the process more sustainable and suitable for medical applications. Laboratory experiments showed that the CDV-CeO2 nanoparticles were significantly more effective at killing breast cancer cells than either cidofo...

  When doctors detect elevated levels of SerpinB3 in a blood test, it can signal that something is seriously wrong, from hard-to-treat cancers to severe inflammatory conditions. SerpinB3 is a critical protein that often reveals when the body's barrier tissues, like the skin or lungs, are under serious stress from cancer or chronic illness. But new research from Arizona State University shows that SerpinB3, long recognized as a disease marker, also has a natural role in the body: helping to heal wounds. Skin wounds remain a major challenge for medicine . Of the roughly 6 million wounds that occur annually in the U.S., many are difficult to treat and are often linked to diabetes, burns, infection or advanced age. Together, these hard-to-heal wounds cost an estimated $20 billion each year. In a new study, coauthors Jordan Yaron, Kaushal Rege and their colleagues with the Biodesign Center for Biomaterials Innovation and Translation discovered that SerpinB3 is part of the body's nat...

  Glycans are important complex carbohydrates found on cell surfaces that serve crucial roles in cell-to-cell communication, structure, and protection. They are attached to many proteins in the body, and their attachment differs protein to protein. Researchers aimed to investigate the selectivity of a specific, cancer -related enzyme, N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-V (GnT-V or MGAT5). GnT-V is often abnormally upregulated and can be an indicator of a poor prognosis in cancer diagnoses, with N-glycans individually associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's, emphysema, diabetes and cancer. Understanding why and how GnT-V selects substrates may offer therapeutic solutions for diseases involving this enzyme. Results were published in iScience on October 28th, 2025. The glycosylation process of proteins is a common and regular modification after they have been synthesized, and is the addition of carbohydrates to the protein. There are two classes, N-glycosylation and O- glycosylation...

  Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have developed a novel biomaterial-based system that induces the formation of tertiary lymphoid-like structures, or TLSs. These immune cell clusters are increasingly linked to improved outcomes and treatment responses in cancer. Results of their study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. TLSs are specialized immune structures that sometimes form within tumors, helping the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells. However, many tumors lack these structures, which can limit the effectiveness of immunotherapy . Understanding how TLSs form and function has been challenging because traditional laboratory models cannot easily reproduce them. Using an innovative approach, researchers created a biodegradable, injectable hydrogel that slowly releases immune-signaling molecules, including chemokines and cytokines, beneath the skin. These signals attract key immune cells such as T cells and B cells to the injection...