I am thrilled to share that Aurelie Brownsberger, a graduate researcher working on a PD[N]ano Lab project, was selected for an oral presentation at the 14th Annual Harper Cancer Research Day, held on Monday, March 23, 2026 at the University of Notre Dame.
This is a meaningful distinction. Of the more than 100 abstracts submitted to the event, only 15 were selected for oral presentation — and along with that selection came a $400 travel grant, which Aurelie put to excellent use traveling to the 2026 Society For Biomaterials (SFB) Annual Meeting to share her work with the broader biomaterials community. (More on that visit in an upcoming post.)
The Talk
Aurelie’s presentation was titled:
“Magneto-electric Silica Nanocarriers for Doxorubicin Delivery Inhibit Tumor Growth and Reduce Systemic Toxicity in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer” — A. Brownsberger (Nallathamby Group)
The project sits at a genuinely interesting interface between materials engineering and oncology. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains one of the most therapeutically challenging breast cancer subtypes, in large part because of the dose-limiting systemic toxicity of frontline chemotherapeutics like doxorubicin. Aurelie’s work leverages magneto-electric silica nanocarriers to load and release doxorubicin in a stimulus-responsive manner — improving tumor-localized drug delivery while reducing the off-target toxicity that drives so much of the morbidity in TNBC chemotherapy.
By all accounts the talk was very well received by the audience. Aurelie did a wonderful job articulating both the materials chemistry and the in vivo therapeutic outcomes — which, when an audience is split between cancer biologists and engineers, is no small feat. I am genuinely proud of how she represented the joint Nallathamby–Roeder effort, and it is gratifying to see her work recognized alongside the strongest cancer research being done across campus.
A Note on the Day
The 14th Harper Cancer Research Day featured a keynote address from Dr. Lisa Coussens (Professor and Chairwoman of Cell, Developmental & Cancer Biology at Oregon Health & Science University) on “Inflammation and cancer: From basic mechanisms to therapeutic targets,” and recognized many outstanding trainees across poster and oral categories. The Dr. Michael Rodriguez Award was presented to Toni Mayberry, a breast cancer survivor and Harper’s former tissue bank consent coordinator — a beautifully fitting recognition. Sincere congratulations to all of the trainees who presented or won awards; the breadth of cancer research happening at Notre Dame is genuinely impressive, and Harper Cancer Research Day is one of the best ways to take it all in each year.
Looking Ahead
Aurelie’s selection for the Harper oral session, the travel grant, and her subsequent presentation at SFB 2026 form a nice arc — moving the magneto-electric silica nanocarrier platform from internal validation to peer presentation in front of two distinct expert audiences in a span of weeks.
Congratulations again, Aurelie. Onward.
#HarperCancerResearchDay #NotreDame #TNBC #Nanomedicine #Doxorubicin #Biomaterials #PDNanoLab #Berthiaume
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