Project Mentor
Dr. Henry Smilowitz
Cell Biology
Undergraduate Research Opportunity Description
| Project Description | Our lab currently has two main lines of research: A. Experimental therapeutics of brain tumors, and B. Tumor cell dormancy. A. Experimental Therapeutics of Brain Tumors. We collaborate with a small biotech company, Nanoprobes, Inc., on the use of heavy atom nanoparticles (e.g. gold and iodine nanoparticles) to increase the efficacy of radiation therapy (RT) of advanced gliomas growing in the brains of mice. More recently novel iodine nanoparticles (INPs) have been shown to increase both the efficacy of RT as well as RT plus chemotherapy of advanced intracerebral gliomas. Work going forward will be to understand the mechanisms underlying therapeutic efficacy and the development of methods to improve therapeutic efficacy using a variety of strategies including tumor targeting and combination therapies (chemotherapy, immunotherapy, oncolytic viral therapy etc). Concurrently we are pursuing clinical translation of the INPs. Hainfeld, J.F., Slatkin, D. N., Smilowitz, H.M. 2004. The use of gold nanoparticles to enhance radiotherapy in mice. Physics in Medicine and Biology, 49: N309 Hainfeld, J.F., Smilowitz, H.M., O’Connor, M.J., Dilmanian, F.A., Slatkin, D.N. 2013. Gold nanoparticle imaging and radiotherapy of brain tumors in mice. Nanomedicine London (Future Medicine).8:1601-1609. Smilowitz HM, Meyers A, Rahman K, Dyment NA, Sasso D, Xue C, Oliver D, Lichtler A, Deng X, Ridwan SM, Tarmu LT, Wu Q, Salner AL, Bulsara KR, Slatkin DN, Hainfeld JF. 2018. IV injected gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) access intracerebral F98 rat gliomas better than AuNPs infused directly into the tumor site by convection-enhanced delivery. Int J Nanomedicine. 13:3937-3948. Hainfeld JM, Sharif M. Ridwan, Yaroslav Stanishevskiy, Nathaniel R. Smilowitz, James Davis, Smilowitz HM 2018 Novel, Long-Acting Iodine Nanoparticle Contrast Agent For Vascular Imaging. Nature: Scientific Reports. 8:13,803. Hainfeld JM, Sharif M. Ridwan, Yaroslav Stanishevskiy, Panchal R, Slatkin DN, Smilowitz HM. 2018. Iodine Nanoparticles enhance radiotherapy of intracerebral human gliomas in mice and increase the efficacy of chemotherapy. Under revision for publication. B. Tumor Cell Dormancy. Our lab developed a combined RT plus Immunotherapy therapy model of advanced intracerebral melanoma using the B16 mouse melanoma model. We are using this model to study mechanisms underlying escape from radiation therapy and radiation plus immunotherapy induced tumor dormancy. Smilowitz, H.M., Sasso, D., Lee, E., Goh, G., Micca, P.L., Dilmanian, F.A. 2013. Therapy model for advanced intracerebral B16 mouse melanoma using radiation therapy combined with immunotherapy. Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy 62:1187-1197 Smilowitz HM, Micca PL, Sasso D, Wu Q, Dyment N, Kuo L. 2016. Increasing radiation dose greatly improves the efficacy of immunotherapy in a subgroup of mice. Both Radiation and immunotherapy promote intracerebral melanoma dormancy. Cancer Immunology Immunotherapy 65:127-139. For a more complete listing of publications, please refer to the Smilowitz lab blurb on the UCHC Cell Biology web page. |
| Project Direction | Anyone with an interest in these research areas should contact Dr. Smilowitz to discuss specific research projects available over the summer of 2019 as well as projects that can continue over the 2019-2020 academic year to fulfill requirements for a senior thesis. |
| Mentorship and Supervision | Either Dr. Smilowitz and/or a post-doctoral fellow will be present in the lab throughout the summer. Both Dr. Smilowitz and the post-doc will participate in the training of the student. We anticipate direct interaction with the student on a daily basis throughout the summer. Assessment of progress and feedback on progress will be provided continuously. We anticipate a close working relationship with the student. |
| Student Qualifications | Some prior research experience is highly desirable but not required. Course work such as chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry are highly desirable, but not absolutely required. Students should have a keen interest in the subject matters related to our research, the willingness to read and think about relevant literature and come up with original ideas, a strong work ethic and the ability to work independently with supervision |
| Summer Schedule Options | Research Dates: May 28 to August 2, 2019 Schedule: M-F, 9am-5pm or 9am-4pm (if student is using shuttle service) |
| Project Continuation | Fall 2019, Spring 2020 |
| Academic Year Time Commitment | 9 hours/week |
| Possible Thesis Project | Yes |
Application
Submit an online application for this research opportunity at https://quest.uconn.edu/prog/HRP19-20/. The application deadline is Monday, February 4, 2019.
This application requires a cover letter, a resume or CV, an unofficial transcript, a brief statement of research interests, a brief statement of career interests, and letters of recommendation.