Tania Betancourt, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, won one of two grand prizes for Best Paper in Nano-Night 2005.
Nano-Night is a very popular scientific forum featuring the research of current graduate students in the field of nanotechnology. It is organized annually by the Center of Nano—and Molecular Science and Technology of the University of Texas at Austin. Tania's research paper, "Biodegradable Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Cancer," was carried out under the direction of her Ph.D. advisor, Professor Lisa Brannon-Peppas.
Betancourt's research has led to the development of biodegradable nanoparticles with conjugated targeting moieties. By releasing the chemotherapeutic agent over time, the concentration of this agent is more easily maintained within the therapeutic window for extended periods. Also, by targeting the nanoparticles carrying the chemotherapeutic agent to cancer cells, the toxicity that is traditionally induced in other tissues of the body can be significantly reduced.
The only engineer to receive this grand prize this year, Tania is a resident of Houston, TX and did her B.S. degree in chemical engineering at Texas A&M University. She joined the Biomedical Engineering Department in August 2003 and is presently a National Science Foundation Fellow of the IGERT Program on Cellular and Molecular Imaging for Diagnostics and Therapeutics.
