Developing clinically translatable nano-systems to break down immune barriers

Principal Advisor: Dr Sherry Wu

Research group page: Wu Lab - Cancer therapeutics

Organisational unit: School of Biomedical Sciences

This project focuses on developing clinically translatable tumour-targeted delivery systems for RNA-based therapeutics. Unlike conventional small molecule inhibitors or monoclonal antibodies, RNA-based therapeutics can be highly specific to its target and has a much wider clinical applicability as its use is not limited to targeting ligands or kinases. Several early phase trials have reported clinical responses in cancer patients after RNA-based therapy. Despite the promise of existing synthetic delivery systems, the reported spleen, liver, and immune-related toxicities in early phase clinical trials must be overcome before RNA-based therapeutics can meet the standards for clinical use for cancer treatment. To address this need, the project focuses on developing a novel and biocompatible delivery strategy using naturally occurring exosomes that are highly efficient in delivering their cargo to recipient cells.