{"id":2083,"date":"2026-05-09T01:12:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T05:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/pdnano\/?p=2083"},"modified":"2026-06-19T06:59:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:59:20","slug":"ay-2026-in-review-pdnano-lab-highlights-featured-in-the-provosts-tpac-rl-may-2026-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/pdnano\/?p=2083","title":{"rendered":"AY 2026 in Review: PD[N]ano Lab Highlights Featured in the Provost’s TPAC-RL May 2026 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Provost\u2019s TPAC-RL Faculty Newsletter (Spring 2026)<\/strong> went out this week, and I\u2019m grateful that several of the lab\u2019s milestones from the past academic year were included in the round-up of faculty achievements. The newsletter is sent to the university\u2019s Teaching, Professor of the Practice, Advising, Clinical, Research, and Library faculty community, and it\u2019s a nice once-a-year snapshot of what colleagues across campus have been up to. Below is a brief recap of the items credited to me and the lab and a few updates not included in that as well\u2014 a useful occasion to take stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Multi-Year Federal Grant \u2014 CDMRP-PRCRP IDEA Award<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The biggest single piece of news is one I haven\u2019t yet posted about here: I am the PI on a Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP) IDEA Award<\/strong> \u2014 an invited award<\/strong> in the amount of $694,330<\/strong> (HT94252510332), running 2025\u20132027<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMultispecific Bridge Nanoparticles to Engage T Cells and Off-the-Shelf CAR-T Cells Against Antigen(+) EC Tumors to Enhance Antitumor Immune Activity\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work is a collaboration with the Indiana University School of Medicine \u2014 South Bend (IUSM-SB)<\/strong>, and it builds directly on the bispecific-bridge nanoparticle platform now protected by U.S. Patent 12,576,160 B2<\/strong> (issued March 17, 2026 \u2014 see below). The IDEA mechanism is reserved for high-risk, high-reward translational concepts, and being invited to submit is itself a meaningful endorsement of the underlying science. More to come as the project progresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patent Issued \u2014 U.S. 12,576,160 B2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As previously announced<\/a>, the USPTO issued U.S. Patent 12,576,160 B2<\/strong> on March 17, 2026<\/strong>, covering bispecific bridge nanoparticles for cancer-cell targeting via universal CAR-T cells or chemotherapeutics. This is the same platform now powering the CDMRP IDEA award above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patent Licensed for Commercialization \u2014 U.S. 12,161,725 B2 \u2192 nanoBLASTx, LLC<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another piece of news worth singling out: in March 2026<\/strong>, U.S. Patent 12,161,725 B2<\/strong> (\u201cPhage Mimicking Nanoparticles\u201d; inventors P.D. Nallathamby and J. Hopf<\/em>) was licensed to nanoBLASTx, LLC for commercialization.<\/strong> This is the platform IP underlying both our phage-architecture antibacterial nanoparticles<\/strong> and the BactiBlank<\/strong> anti-adhesive antibiofilm coating, and the license is the formal start of its translational journey out of the academic lab. Sincere thanks to the Notre Dame IDEA Center<\/strong> team \u2014 particularly Carrie Jennings<\/strong> and Tim Joyce<\/strong> \u2014 for shepherding the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Internal Award \u2014 BIPH Technology Bridge Fund (Ovarian Cancer)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The lab has been awarded a Berthiaume Institute for Precision Health (BIPH) Technology Bridge Fund<\/strong> for the project \u201cMultispecific Bridge-Nanoparticle Loading and T-Cell Engagement for Refractory Ovarian Cancer.\u201d<\/em> I serve as PI in collaboration with Co-PI Sharon Stack<\/strong> (Harper Cancer Research Institute).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Technology Bridge program<\/a> is designed to strengthen high-impact extramural resubmissions by funding the targeted preliminary data needed to address prior reviewer feedback. This award supports a short, focused effort that extends our multispecific bridge-nanoparticle platform \u2014 the same conceptual lineage as our CDMRP IDEA work \u2014 toward ovarian cancer, one of the most treatment-resistant cancers in women. The resulting datasets will anchor a strengthened resubmission to the FY26 CDMRP Ovarian Cancer Research Program Pilot Award and a planned NIH R21. My thanks to BIPH for the support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IDEA Center Research Commercialization Grant (RCG) \u2014 MagSiNs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Following our pitch at the\u00a0IDEA Center\u2019s inaugural Research Commercialization Grant event<\/a>, the lab has been awarded an\u00a0IDEA Center Research Commercialization Grant<\/strong>\u00a0of $100,00\/- for FY 27 to advance our\u00a0Magnetoelectric Silica Nanoparticle (MagSiNs)<\/strong>\u00a0platform to tackle KRAS mutated colorectal cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RCG mechanism supports de-risking and commercial-readiness work that moves validated Notre Dame science toward translation and licensing. This award accelerates the MagSiNs drug-delivery platform along that path [add one line on intended use \/ milestone if you’d like it public]. Sincere thanks to the Notre Dame IDEA Center<\/strong> team for their continued partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related reading:<\/em>\u00a0For background on the science behind this platform, see our recent writeup,\u00a0\u201cPrecision Chemotherapy: Externally Controlled Nanocarriers for Aggressive Cancers,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0which describes how MagSiNs use external magnetic fields to guide and trigger receptor-independent, on-demand chemotherapy release in aggressive cancer models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Invited Feature Review \u2014 Journal of Nanotheranostics, Led by Aurelie Brownsberger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our invited Feature Review<\/strong> in MDPI\u2019s Journal of Nanotheranostics<\/em> was published this spring, led by graduate researcher Aurelie Brownsberger<\/strong> as first author. Full citation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brownsberger, A. F.; Kudary, C.; Williams, H. H.; Wei, S.; Latorre, P.; Eastland, R.; Sayani, O.; Lyu, J.; Davey, R.; Hopkins, V.; Roeder, R. K.; Nallathamby, P. D. Intrinsically Selective Nanoplatforms for Precision Therapy and Monitoring.<\/strong> J. Nanotheranostics<\/em> 2026<\/strong>, 7<\/em>(2), 12. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/jnt7020012<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A nice subplot: among the co-authors are Jack Lyu<\/strong> and Victoria Hopkins<\/strong> \u2014 both undergraduate researchers in the lab who graduated this Spring<\/a> \u2014 alongside trainees C. Kudary, H. H. Williams, S. Wei, P. Latorre, R. Eastland, O. Sayani, and R. Davey, plus our collaborator Prof. Ryan Roeder<\/strong>. Producing a Feature Review of this scope, with this many trainees contributing meaningfully, is one of the better outcomes a lab can hope for in a single academic year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TechConnect World 2026 \u2014 Critical Technology Spotlights Finalist + Two Oral Talks + Two Chaired Sessions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I was selected as a finalist<\/strong> in the Advanced Materials track of the TechConnect Innovation Spotlights<\/strong>, where I pitched BactiBlank (Anti-Adhesive, Antibiotic-Free Shield)<\/strong> at TechConnect World 2026 in Raleigh, NC. The broader trip \u2014 recapped here<\/a> \u2014 also included two oral presentations<\/strong> from the lab on the phage-architecture antibacterial platform and two chaired sessions<\/strong> (Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing<\/em>; Precision Health and Diagnostics<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Society For Biomaterials (SFB) 2026 \u2014 Atlanta, March 25\u201328<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SFB 2026 was one of our best-represented conferences of the year, with three lab contributions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n