Cancer symposium to focus on nanotechnology

Institute Professor Robert Langer and other top cancer researchers will speak at the 2008 symposium hosted by MIT’s David H. Koch Center for Integrative Cancer Research on Friday, June 27, at Kresge Auditorium.

The symposium, “Nanotechnology and Cancer: The Power of Small Science,” will look at how nanotechnology is transforming the battle against cancer.

Langer, a member of the Koch Institute, will talk about his nanoparticle drug- and gene-delivery systems, which are revolutionizing cancer treatment.

Speakers in the morning session include Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute; Piotr Grodzinski, director of nanotechnology for cancer programs at the National Cancer Institute; Ralph Weissleder, professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School; Paula Hammond, the Bayer Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT and member of the Koch Institute; Rebecca Richards-Kortum, professor of bioengineering at Rice University; and Charles Lieber, professor of chemistry at Harvard.

Afternoon speakers are Langer, Mark Davis, professor of chemical engineering at Caltech; Sangeeta Bhatia, associate professor of health sciences and technology at MIT and member of the Koch Institute; and James Heath, professor of chemistry at Caltech.