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Nanoparticles in Treating Diseases [F-13-37]

This presentation will focus on the therapeutic potential of nanoparticles in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Nanotechnology is the syntheses and applications of man-made materials of less than 100 nm in diameter. By comparison, in nature there are very few materials found that are less than 10 nm. (Note: 1 nm = a billionth of a meter.) Because of their unusually small size and chemical reactivity, nanomaterials have become a focal point of an emerging field in medical diagnostics and drug delivery. New technologies are being developed to exploit their potential. In this lecture, the presenter will provide a summary of the development of nanomaterials in medicine, concentrating particularly on the therapeutic potential of cerium dioxide nanoparticles that he and his co-workers have developed.

Joseph Erlichman received his doctoral training in neurophysiology at Dartmouth Medical School. He completed post-doctoral work both at DMS and Boonschoft School of Medicine. During his career Joseph’s research shifted from examining the neural circuits in respiratory control in the brain to studying the effects of cerium dioxide nanoparticles on cell signaling and working to develop compounds for use in treating neurodegenerative diseases.