NAMCAM: New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for Assessing Cancer Advanced Materials

Dr. Melissa Anne Tutty

Melissa Anne Tutty, post-doctoral researcher in the Nanomedicine group at Trinity College Dublin, was awarded with a Breakthrough Cancer Research Innovation Grant 2024 in partnership with Citi.

Cancer remains one of the most pervasive global health concerns, with approximately 45,000 new cases and over 9,000 deaths reported in Ireland every year. This harsh reality emphasizes
the need for ongoing improvement in cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and patient support. Significant advancements in cancer treatment which improve patient outcomes are emerging, particularly the development of Nanomedicines, or ‘Advanced Materials.’ These ground-breaking therapies seek to overcome the major shortcomings of conventional cancer treatment, by selectively targeting cancer cells and minimizing the adverse effects typically associated with traditional chemotherapy. However, despite their potential to revolutionise oncology, the translation of nanomedicine products to the clinic extremely slow, partially due to inadequate methods for testing their safety and efficacy, with traditional testing methods, such as 2D cell cultures or animal studies, failing to accurately predict human responses. To address this, innovative approaches like 3D cell cultures that better simulate the human body are being adopted. This project aims to develop a complex 3D liver model, with blood vessel elements, to test a specific type of nanomedicine with huge potential in cancer diagnosis and treatment, i.e., mRNA-lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which can be used to deliver drugs, modulate the immune system, and even work as cancer vaccines for personalized medicine.
By demonstrating that advanced liver models offer a more accurate testing platform for nanomedicines, I hope to improve the success rate of these life-changing cancer therapies and the speed at which they reach patients.