Prize for Portuguese student's thesis

Lung cancer is the most common and deadly type of cancer worldwide. Late diagnosis of localized or metastasized disease is one of the causes that contributes to the failure of the therapies applied to patients. According to recent data, only 14% of lung cancer cases survive five years.

In light of this data, researcher Ana Sofia Silva 's PhD thesis proposes a new therapeutic approach for lung cancer. The MIT Portugal alumna developed a layer-by-layer nanosystem that proved to be effective in silencing the target genes associated with the genetic pathway of this type of cancer. In order to evaluate the biodestruction of the particles, tests were carried out on healthy mice, through pulmonary administration by inhalation of the "powders" developed by the researcher. The experiment revealed promising results for future application in gene therapy for lung cancer.

Ana Sofia Silva's thesis thus emphasizes "the extraordinary advantages of combining nanotechnology, molecular biology, polymer science, chemical engineering and supercritical fluid technology to develop robust and reliable systems for the treatment [of the disease]."

The biennial Best Doctoral Thesis award was presented by the International Society for the Advancement of Supercritical Fluids during the 16th European Supercritical Fluids Meeting in Essen, Germany, on May 11, 2016.

The thesis entitled "Multifunctional nano-in-micro formulations for lung cancer theragnosis" by Ana Sofia Alves describes the project developed in the Polymer Synthesis and Processing laboratory of the LAQV - REQUIMTE Unit at FCT-NOVA, under the coordination of Ana Aguiar-Ricardo, Full Professor in the Chemistry Department, and in collaboration with the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering group at UBI.

The MIT-Portugal Program is one of FCT's international partnerships. It is developed in the area of engineering systems with particular emphasis on complex processes associated with energy systems, bioengineering, transportation and industrial production.