TED2017
Elizabeth Wayne: We can hack our immune cells to fight cancer
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After decades of research and billions spent in clinical trials, we still have a problem with cancer drug delivery, says biomedical engineer Elizabeth Wayne. Chemotherapy kills cancer -- but it kills the rest of your body, too. Instead of using human design to fight cancer, why not use nature's? In this quick talk, Wayne explains how her lab is creating nanoparticle treatments that bind to immune cells, your body's first responders, to precisely target cancer cells without damaging healthy ones.
Elizabeth Wayne - Biomedical engineer
TED Fellow Dr. Elizabeth Wayne is a biomedical engineer and advocate for women in higher education. Full bio
TED Fellow Dr. Elizabeth Wayne is a biomedical engineer and advocate for women in higher education. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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After decades of research
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and billions of dollars
spent in clinical trials,
spent in clinical trials,
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we still have a problem
with cancer drug delivery.
with cancer drug delivery.
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We still give patients chemotherapy,
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which is so non-specific
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that even though
it kills the cancer cells,
it kills the cancer cells,
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it kind of kills
the rest of your body, too.
the rest of your body, too.
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And yes, we have developed
more selective drugs,
more selective drugs,
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but it's still a challenge
to get them into the tumor,
to get them into the tumor,
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and they end up accumulating
in the other organs as well
in the other organs as well
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or passing through your urine,
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which is a total waste.
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And fields like mine have emerged
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where we try to encapsulate these drugs
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to protect them as they
travel through the body.
travel through the body.
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But these modifications cause problems
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that we make more modifications to fix.
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So what I'm really trying to say
is we need a better drug delivery system.
is we need a better drug delivery system.
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And I propose,
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rather than using solely human design,
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why not use nature's?
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Immune cells are these versatile vehicles
that travel throughout our body,
that travel throughout our body,
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patrolling for signs of disease
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and arriving at a wound
mere minutes after injury.
mere minutes after injury.
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So I ask you guys:
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If immune cells are already traveling
to places of injury or disease
to places of injury or disease
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in our bodies,
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why not add an extra passenger?
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Why not use immune cells to deliver drugs
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to cure some of our biggest problems
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in disease?
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I am a biomedical engineer,
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and I want to tell you guys a story
about how I use immune cells
about how I use immune cells
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to target one of the largest
problems in cancer.
problems in cancer.
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Did you know that over 90 percent
of cancer deaths
of cancer deaths
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can be attributed to its spread?
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So if we can stop these cancer cells
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from going from the primary tumor
to a distant site,
to a distant site,
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we can stop cancer right in its tracks
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and give people more of their lives back.
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To do this special mission,
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we decided to deliver
a nanoparticle made of lipids,
a nanoparticle made of lipids,
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which are the same materials
that compose your cell membrane.
that compose your cell membrane.
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And we've added two special molecules.
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One is called e-selectin,
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which acts as a glue
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that binds the nanoparticle
to the immune cell.
to the immune cell.
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And the second one is called trail.
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Trail is a therapeutic drug
that kills cancer cells
that kills cancer cells
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but not normal cells.
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Now, when you put both of these together,
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you have a mean killing machine on wheels.
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To test this, we ran
an experiment in a mouse.
an experiment in a mouse.
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So what we did was we injected
the nanoparticles,
the nanoparticles,
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and they bound almost immediately
to the immune cells in the bloodstream.
to the immune cells in the bloodstream.
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And then we injected the cancer cells
to mimic a process
to mimic a process
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through which cancer cells
spread throughout our bodies.
spread throughout our bodies.
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And we found something very exciting.
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We found that in our treated group,
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over 75 percent of the cancer cells
we initially injected were dead or dying,
we initially injected were dead or dying,
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in comparison to only around 25 percent.
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So just imagine: these fewer
amount of cells were available
amount of cells were available
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to actually be able to spread
to a different part of the body.
to a different part of the body.
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And this is only after
two hours of treatment.
two hours of treatment.
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Our results were amazing,
and we had some pretty interesting press.
and we had some pretty interesting press.
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My favorite title was actually,
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"Sticky balls may stop
the spread of cancer."
the spread of cancer."
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(Laughter)
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I can't tell you just how smug
my male colleagues were,
my male colleagues were,
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knowing that their sticky balls
might one day cure cancer.
might one day cure cancer.
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(Laughter)
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But I can tell you they made
some pretty, pretty, exciting,
some pretty, pretty, exciting,
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pretty ballsy t-shirts.
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This was also my first experience
talking to patients
talking to patients
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where they asked how soon
our therapy would be available.
our therapy would be available.
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And I keep these stories with me
to remind me of the importance
to remind me of the importance
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of the science,
the scientists and the patients.
the scientists and the patients.
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Now, our fast-acting results
were pretty interesting,
were pretty interesting,
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but we still had one lingering question:
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Can our sticky balls,
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our particles actually attached
to the immune cells,
to the immune cells,
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actually stop the spread of cancer?
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So we went to our animal model,
and we found three important parts.
and we found three important parts.
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Our primary tumors were smaller
in our treated animals,
in our treated animals,
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there were fewer cells in circulation,
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and there was little to no
tumor burden in the distant organs.
tumor burden in the distant organs.
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Now, this wasn't just a victory
for us and our sticky balls.
for us and our sticky balls.
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This was also a victory to me
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in drug delivery,
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and it represents a paradigm shift,
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a revolution --
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to go from just using drugs,
just injecting them
just injecting them
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and hoping they go to the right
places in the body,
places in the body,
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to using immune cells
as special delivery drivers in your body.
as special delivery drivers in your body.
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For this example, we used two molecules,
e-selectin and trail,
e-selectin and trail,
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but really, the possibility
of drugs you can use are endless.
of drugs you can use are endless.
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And I talked about cancer,
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but where disease goes,
so do immune cells.
so do immune cells.
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So this could be used for any disease.
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Imagine using immune cells
to deliver crucial wound-healing agents
to deliver crucial wound-healing agents
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after a spinal cord injury,
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or using immune cells to deliver drugs
past the blood-brain barrier
past the blood-brain barrier
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to treat Parkinson's
or Alzheimer's disease.
or Alzheimer's disease.
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These are the ideas that excite me
about science the most.
about science the most.
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And from where I stand,
I see so much promise and opportunity.
I see so much promise and opportunity.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Elizabeth Wayne - Biomedical engineerTED Fellow Dr. Elizabeth Wayne is a biomedical engineer and advocate for women in higher education.
Why you should listen
Dr. Elizabeth Wayne received her Bachelor's degree in Physics from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar and Moelis Access Science Scholar. She continued her education at Cornell University, where her research on the role of immune cells in cancer progression and their potential as drug delivery carriers was supported by funding from the National Cancer Institute Physical Sciences in Oncology Network and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 2016, Wayne earned her PhD in biomedical engineering, where her work in immune cell-mediated drug delivery resulted in several publications and a technology patent. Her current research uses macrophages to delivery therapeutic genes to solid tumors.
Wayne is a strong advocate for women in science. She has been a chief organizer for the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWIP) at Cornell as well as a panelist and workshop leader at CUWiPs held at Yale and Harvard. She has received awards for her advocacy including the Constance and Alice Cook Award.
Wayne is currently a National Cancer Institute Cancer Nanotechnology Training Program Postdoctoral Fellow in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at UNC-Chapel Hill. She was recognized as a 2017 TED Fellow for her cancer nanotechnology research and efforts to amplify voices of women in leadership and higher education through her podcast PhDivas. Wayne has been featured in various publications including Bust Magazine, Cornell Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times.
As a speaker, Wayne works with high schools, colleges and nonprofit organizations across the country to encourage the inclusion of women in science.
Elizabeth Wayne | Speaker | TED.com