Robert Langer Named Priestley Medalist
Langer never seems to run out of ideas. His group most recent work includes contact lenses that release drugs and a polymer gel that can help people with damaged vocal cords get their voices back. His team is also reaching out in new directions, including developing substrate materials for improved growth of stem cells and lipid parcels called lipidoids to deliver short-interfering RNAs that can shut off malfunctioning genes that cause diseases.
have been astonished to see how successful Bob is at translating basic research findings into start-up companies without himself leaving the confines of academia,?says Cornell University organic chemist Bruce Ganem, who as cofounder of intellectual property development firm KensaGroup has worked closely with Langer is career provides the consummate example to aspiring scientist-entrepreneurs on how to combine academic research with the necessary translational firepower to turn inventions into innovative products?Ganem says.To name a few companies that have benefited from Langer ideas, Seventh Sense Biosystems has a needle-free microfluidic blood extraction process to transfer blood to a collection reservoir for immediate analysis; Alkermes uses controlled-release microspheres that deliver drugs and last much longer than a pill; MicroCHIPS develops implantable biochips with sensor-controlled arrays of microreservoirs that can be opened on demand to precisely control drug release; and BIND Biosciences uses engineered nanoparticles to selectively deliver drugs to tumor cells to increase efficacy and reduce chemotherapy side effects. To create these types of applications, Langer generally focuses on developing platform technologies that lead to multiple end points, rather than one-of-a-kind products, Langer says.The inherent benefits of using an electronics dropshipper include the fact that the seller never has to take possession of the wholesale consumer electronics.
