ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joy Wolfram - Nanotechnologist
Joy Wolfram leads a nanomedicine research lab with the goal of developing innovative nanoparticles that bring the next generation of treatments directly to the clinic.

Why you should listen

Dr. Joy Wolfram has designed many preclinical nanoparticles for treating cancer and other life-threatening diseases, and has authored more than 50 publications in the past five years. She is the director of the Nanomedicine and Extracellular Vesicles Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and holds affiliate faculty positions at the Houston Methodist Hospital, the University of North Florida and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is a board member and scientific advisor of several companies around the world with a cumulative customer base of more than 18 million.

Wolfram's mission is to inspire and support underrepresented minorities in science. She is actively involved in community outreach and scientific education, including serving as the chair of an education and outreach working group of the National Cancer Institute in the United States. She was included in the Amgen Scholars "ten to watch" list, which highlights the best and brightest up-and-comers in science and medicine across 42 countries.

A native of Finland, Wolfram was selected as one of 12 internationally accomplished Finns, alongside Nobel laureates. She was also listed on the Forbes "30 under 30" in healthcare in 2019. Additionally, she is part of the Global Young Academy, which represents 83 countries and is limited to 200 members who are selected based on scientific excellence and commitment to service.

More profile about the speaker
Joy Wolfram | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxJacksonville

Joy Wolfram: How nanoparticles could change the way we treat cancer

Joy Wolfram: Como as nanopartículas podem mudar a maneira como tratamos o câncer

Filmed:
299,183 views

Noventa e nove por cento dos medicamentos contra o câncer nunca chegam aos tumores, sendo eliminados do corpo antes que tenham tempo para cumprir a tarefa deles. Como podemos entregar melhor medicamentos que salvam vidas? A pesquisadora sobre o câncer Joy Wolfram compartilha pesquisas médicas de ponta em nanopartículas - partículas minúsculas que podem ser usadas para levar com precisão medicamentos até tumores - e explica como elas conseguem manter os medicamentos no corpo por mais tempo para atacar células malignas.
- Nanotechnologist
Joy Wolfram leads a nanomedicine research lab with the goal of developing innovative nanoparticles that bring the next generation of treatments directly to the clinic. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
It was a Sunday afternoon
back in April of this year.
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Foi numa tarde de domingo,
em abril deste ano.
00:17
My phone was ringing,
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Meu telefone tocou,
00:19
I picked it up.
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e eu atendi.
00:21
The voice said, "It's Rebecca.
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A voz disse: "É Rebecca.
00:24
I'm just calling to invite you
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Só estou ligando para te convidar
00:27
to my funeral."
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para o meu enterro".
00:30
I said, "Rebecca,
what are you talking about?"
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Falei: "Rebecca,
do que você está falando?"
00:33
She said, "Joy, as my friend,
you have to let me go.
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Ela disse: "Joy, como minha amiga,
você tem que me deixar partir.
00:39
It's my time."
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Chegou a minha hora".
00:41
The next day, she was dead.
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No dia seguinte, ela havia morrido.
00:46
Rebecca was 31 years old when she died.
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Rebecca tinha 31 anos quando morreu.
00:49
She had an eight-year struggle
with breast cancer.
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Lutou oito anos contra o câncer de mama,
00:53
It came back three times.
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que voltou três vezes.
00:55
I failed her.
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Eu fracassei com ela.
00:58
The scientific community failed her.
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A comunidade científica fracassou com ela.
01:01
And the medical community failed her.
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E a comunidade médica também.
01:05
And she's not the only one.
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Ela não é a única.
01:07
Every five seconds,
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A cada cinco segundos,
01:09
someone dies of cancer.
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alguém morre de câncer.
01:13
Today, we medical
researchers are committed
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Hoje, nós, pesquisadores médicos,
temos o compromisso
01:17
to having Rebecca and people like her
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de fazer com que Rebecca
e pessoas como ela
01:20
be one of the last patients that we fail.
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sejam alguns dos últimos pacientes
com quem fracassamos.
01:24
The US government alone has spent
over 100 billion on cancer research
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Só o governo dos EUA
gastou mais de US$ 100 bilhões
em pesquisas sobre o câncer
desde a década de 1970,
01:30
since the 1970s,
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01:32
with limited progress
in regards to patient survival,
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com progressos limitados
em relação à sobrevivência dos pacientes,
01:36
especially for certain types
of very aggressive cancers.
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especialmente para certos tipos
de câncer muito agressivos.
01:40
So we need a change because, clearly,
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Precisamos de uma mudança
porque, claramente,
01:43
what we've been doing so far
has not been working.
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o que estamos fazendo até agora
não está funcionando.
01:48
And what we do in medicine
is to send out firefighters,
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O que fazemos na medicina
é enviar bombeiros,
01:51
because cancer is like a big fire.
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porque o câncer é como um grande incêndio.
01:54
And these firefighters
are the cancer drugs.
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E esses bombeiros são
os medicamentos contra o câncer.
01:58
But we're sending them out
without a fire truck --
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Mas nós os enviamos
sem um caminhão de bombeiros,
02:02
so without transportation, without ladders
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portanto, sem transporte, sem escadas,
02:05
and without emergency equipment.
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e sem equipamento de emergência.
02:08
And over 99 percent of these firefighters
never make it to the fire.
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Mais de 99% desses bombeiros
nunca chegam ao fogo.
02:15
Over 99 percent of cancer drugs
never make it to the tumor
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Mais de 99% dos medicamentos
contra o câncer nunca chegam ao tumor
02:20
because they lack transportation and tools
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porque faltam transporte e ferramentas
02:24
to take them to the location
they're aiming for.
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para levá-los ao local que pretendem.
02:29
Turns out, it really is all about
location, location, location.
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Acontece que tudo se trata
realmente de local, local, local.
02:33
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
02:35
So we need a fire truck
to get to the right location.
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Precisamos de um caminhão de bombeiros
para chegar ao local certo.
02:40
And I'm here to tell you
that nanoparticles are the fire trucks.
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Estou aqui para dizer que nanopartículas
são os caminhões de bombeiros.
02:45
We can load cancer drugs
inside nanoparticles,
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Podemos carregar medicamentos
contra o câncer dentro de nanopartículas,
02:49
and nanoparticles
can function as the carrier
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e elas podem funcionar
como transportadoras
02:53
and necessary equipment
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e equipamentos necessários
02:55
to bring the cancer drugs
to the heart of the tumor.
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para levar os medicamentos
contra o câncer ao centro do tumor.
03:00
So what are nanoparticles,
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O que são nanopartículas
03:01
and what does it really mean
to be nano-sized?
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e o que realmente significa
ser nanométrico?
03:05
Well, there are many different
types of nanoparticles
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Existem muitos tipos diferentes
de nanopartículas,
03:09
made out of various materials,
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feitas de vários materiais,
03:10
such as metal-based nanoparticles
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como nanopartículas baseadas em metal
03:14
or fat-based nanoparticles.
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ou nanopartículas baseadas em gordura.
03:17
But to really illustrate
what it means to be nano-sized,
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Mas, para realmente ilustrar
o que significa ser nanométrico,
03:20
I took one of my hair strands
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peguei um fio de cabelo
03:23
and placed it under the microscope.
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e o coloquei no microscópio.
03:26
Now, I have very thin hair,
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Tenho cabelos muito finos,
03:27
so my hair is approximately
40,000 nanometers in diameter.
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com espessura aproximada
de 40 mil nanômetros.
03:33
So this means, if we take
400 of our nanoparticles
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Isso significa que, se pegarmos
400 de nossas nanopartículas
03:36
and we stack them on top of each other,
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e as empilharmos umas sobre as outras,
03:39
we get the thickness
of a single hair strand.
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obteremos a espessura
de um único fio de cabelo.
03:43
I lead a nanoparticle laboratory
to fight cancer and other diseases
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Dirijo um laboratório de nanopartículas
para combater o câncer e outras doenças
03:49
at Mayo Clinic here in Jacksonville.
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na Mayo Clinic, aqui em Jacksonville.
03:52
And at Mayo Clinic,
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Na Mayo Clinic,
03:53
we really have the tools
to make a difference for patients,
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temos realmente as ferramentas
para fazer a diferença para os pacientes,
03:57
thanks to the generous donations
and grants to fund our research.
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graças às doações e aos subsídios
generosos que financiam nossa pesquisa.
04:03
And so, how do these nanoparticles
manage to transport cancer drugs
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Como essas nanopartículas conseguem
transportar medicamentos contra o câncer
04:08
to the tumor?
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para o tumor?
04:09
Well, they have an extensive toolbox.
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Elas têm uma ampla caixa de ferramentas.
04:13
Cancer drugs without nanoparticles
are quickly washed out of the body
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Medicamentos sem nanopartículas
são rapidamente eliminados do corpo
04:18
through the kidneys
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pelos rins,
04:19
because they're so small.
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porque são muito pequenos.
04:21
So it's like water going through a sieve.
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É como água que passa por uma peneira.
04:24
And so they don't really have time
to reach the tumor.
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Eles não têm tempo para chegar ao tumor.
04:27
Here we see an illustration of this.
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Aqui vemos uma ilustração disso.
04:30
We have the firefighters,
the cancer drugs.
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Temos os bombeiros,
medicamentos contra o câncer,
04:32
They're circulating in the blood,
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que circulam no sangue,
04:34
but they're quickly
washed out of the body
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mas são rapidamente eliminados do corpo
04:36
and they don't really end up
inside the tumor.
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e não acabam dentro do tumor.
04:40
But if we put these cancer drugs
inside nanoparticles,
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Mas, se colocarmos esses medicamentos
contra o câncer dentro de nanopartículas,
04:45
they will not get washed out by the body
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eles não serão eliminados pelo corpo
04:47
because the nanoparticles are too big.
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porque as nanopartículas
são muito grandes.
04:49
And they will continue
to circulate in the blood,
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Continuarão a circular no sangue,
04:52
giving them more time to find the tumor.
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dando-lhes mais tempo
para encontrar o tumor.
Estes são os medicamentos
contra o câncer, os bombeiros,
04:56
And here we see the cancer drug,
the firefighters,
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04:58
inside the fire truck, the nanoparticles.
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dentro do caminhão de bombeiros,
as nanopartículas.
05:02
They're circulating in the blood,
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Eles circulam no sangue,
05:04
they don't get washed out
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não são eliminados
05:05
and they actually end up
reaching the tumor.
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e acabam, de fato, chegando ao tumor.
05:11
And so what other tools
do nanoparticles have?
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E que outras ferramentas
as nanopartículas possuem?
05:14
Well, they can protect cancer drugs
from getting destroyed inside the body.
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Elas podem proteger esses medicamentos
para não serem destruídos dentro do corpo.
05:20
There are certain very important
but sensitive drugs
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Há certos medicamentos
muito importantes, mas sensíveis,
05:24
that are easily degraded
by enzymes in the blood.
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que são facilmente degradados
por enzimas no sangue.
05:27
So unless they have
this nanoparticle protection,
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A menos que tenham
essa proteção de nanopartículas,
05:30
they will not be able to function.
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não conseguirão funcionar.
05:34
Another nanoparticle tool
are these surface extensions
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Outra ferramenta de nanopartículas
são extensões de superfície,
05:37
that are like tiny hands with fingers
that grab on to the tumor
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que são como mãos minúsculas
com dedos que se agarram ao tumor
05:42
and fit exactly onto it,
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e se encaixam exatamente dentro dele,
05:44
so that when the nanoparticles
are circulating,
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para que, quando
as nanopartículas circulem,
05:46
they can attach onto the cancer cells,
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elas possam se fixar
nas células cancerígenas,
05:49
buying the cancer drugs
more time to do their job.
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dando aos medicamentos contra o câncer
mais tempo para cumprir a tarefa deles.
05:53
And these are just some of the many tools
that nanoparticles can have.
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Essas são algumas das muitas ferramentas
que as nanopartículas podem ter.
05:58
And today,
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Hoje temos mais de dez nanopartículas
clinicamente aprovadas para o câncer
05:59
we have more than 10 clinically approved
nanoparticles for cancer
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06:03
that are given to patients
all over the world.
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que são dadas a pacientes em todo o mundo.
06:08
Yet, we have patients,
like Rebecca, who die.
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No entanto, temos pacientes,
como Rebecca, que morrem.
06:13
So what are the major
challenges and limitations
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Então, quais são os principais
desafios e limitações
06:17
with currently approved nanoparticles?
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das nanopartículas atualmente aprovadas?
06:21
Well, a major challenge is the liver,
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Um desafio importante é o fígado,
06:24
because the liver is the body's
filtration system,
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porque ele é o sistema
de filtragem do corpo,
06:28
and the liver recognizes
and destroys foreign objects,
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que reconhece e destrói objetos estranhos,
06:31
such as viruses, bacteria
and also nanoparticles.
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como vírus, bactérias
e também nanopartículas.
06:36
And the immune cells in the liver
eat the nanoparticles,
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As células imunológicas do fígado
comem as nanopartículas,
06:39
preventing them from reaching the tumor.
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impedindo-as de chegarem ao tumor.
06:45
And here we see an illustration
where the kidney is no longer a problem,
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Aqui vemos uma ilustração
em que o rim não é mais um problema,
06:49
but these fire trucks, the nanoparticles,
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mas esses caminhões de bombeiros,
as nanopartículas,
06:51
get stuck in the liver
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ficam presos no fígado
06:53
and, actually, less of them
end up reaching the tumor.
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e, na verdade, menos deles
acabam chegando ao tumor.
06:59
So a future strategy
to improve nanoparticles
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Uma estratégia futura
para melhorar as nanopartículas
07:02
is to temporarily disarm
the immune cells in the liver.
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é desarmar temporariamente
as células imunológicas do fígado.
07:07
So how do we disarm these cells?
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Como desarmamos essas células?
07:09
Well, we looked at drugs
that were already clinically approved
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Examinamos os medicamentos
que já foram clinicamente aprovados
07:13
for other indications
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para outras indicações,
07:15
to see if any of them
could stop the immune cells
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para ver se algum deles
poderia impedir as células imunológicas
07:18
from eating the nanoparticles.
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de comer as nanopartículas.
07:21
And unexpectedly,
in one of our preclinical studies,
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Inesperadamente, em um de nossos
estudos pré-clínicos,
07:25
we found that a 70-year-old malaria drug
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descobrimos que um medicamento
de 70 anos contra a malária
07:30
was able to stop the immune cells
from internalizing the nanoparticles
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conseguia impedir as células imunológicas
de capturarem as nanopartículas
07:34
so that they could escape the liver
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para que pudessem escapar do fígado
07:37
and continue their journey
to their goal, the tumor.
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e continuar a jornada delas
rumo ao objetivo, o tumor.
07:42
And here we see the illustration
of blocking the liver.
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Esta é a ilustração do bloqueio do fígado.
07:45
The nanoparticles don't go there,
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As nanopartículas não vão para lá
07:47
and they instead end up in the tumor.
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e, em vez disso, acabam no tumor.
07:51
So, sometimes, unexpected connections
are made in science
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Às vezes, conexões inesperadas
são feitas na ciência
07:55
that lead to new solutions.
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que levam a novas soluções.
07:59
Another strategy
for preventing nanoparticles
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Outra estratégia para impedir
que as nanopartículas
08:03
from getting stuck in the liver
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fiquem presas no fígado
08:06
is to use the body's own nanoparticles.
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é usar as próprias
nanopartículas do corpo.
08:09
Yes -- surprise, surprise.
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Sim, surpresa, surpresa.
08:10
You, and you and you, and all of us
have a lot of nanoparticles
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Você, você e você, e todos nós
temos muitas nanopartículas
08:16
circulating in our bodies.
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circulando no corpo.
08:18
And because they're part of our bodies,
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Como elas fazem parte do corpo,
08:21
the liver is less likely
to label them as foreign.
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é menos provável que o fígado
as identifique como estranhas.
08:26
And these biological nanoparticles
can be found in the saliva,
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Essas nanopartículas biológicas
podem ser encontradas na saliva,
08:30
in the blood, in the urine,
in pancreatic juice.
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no sangue, na urina, no suco pancreático.
08:33
And we can collect them from the body
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Podemos coletá-las do corpo
08:35
and use them as fire trucks
for cancer drugs.
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e usá-las como caminhões de bombeiros
para medicamentos contra o câncer.
08:40
And in this case,
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Neste caso,
08:42
the immune cells in the liver
are less likely to eat
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é menos provável que as células
imunológicas do fígado comam
08:45
the biological nanoparticles.
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as nanopartículas biológicas.
08:47
So we're using
a Trojan-horse-based concept
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Usamos um conceito
baseado no cavalo de Tróia
08:50
to fool the liver.
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para enganar o fígado.
08:52
And here we see
the biological nanoparticles
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Aqui vemos as nanopartículas biológicas
08:55
circulating in the blood.
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circulando no sangue.
08:56
They don't get recognized by the liver,
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Elas não são reconhecidas pelo fígado
08:59
and they end up in the tumor.
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e acabam no tumor.
09:02
And in the future,
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No futuro,
09:03
we want to exploit
nature's own nanoparticles
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queremos explorar as próprias
nanopartículas da natureza
09:07
for cancer drug delivery,
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para administrar medicamentos
contra o câncer,
09:10
to reduce side effects and save lives
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reduzir efeitos colaterais e salvar vidas,
09:13
by preventing the cancer drugs
from being in the wrong location.
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impedindo que os medicamentos
contra o câncer estejam no local errado.
09:19
However, a major problem has been:
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No entanto, um problema importante é:
09:21
How do we isolate these biological
nanoparticles in large quantities
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como podemos isolar essas nanopartículas
biológicas em grandes quantidades
09:27
without damaging them?
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sem danificá-las?
Meu laboratório desenvolveu
um método eficiente para fazer isso.
09:30
My lab has developed
an efficient method for doing this.
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09:33
We can process large quantities
of liquids from the body
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Podemos processar grandes quantidades
de líquidos do corpo
09:38
to produce a highly concentrated,
high-quality formulation
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para produzir uma substância
de alta qualidade e altamente concentrada
09:43
of biological nanoparticles.
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de nanopartículas biológicas.
09:46
And these nanoparticles
are not yet in clinical use,
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Essas nanopartículas
ainda não estão em uso clínico,
09:50
because it takes an average of 12 years
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porque leva, em média, 12 anos
09:53
to get something from the lab
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para que algo do laboratório
09:55
to your medicine cabinet.
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chegue ao seu armário de medicamentos.
10:00
And this is the type of challenge
that requires teamwork
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Esse é o tipo de desafio
que exige trabalho em equipe
10:04
from scientists and physicians,
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de cientistas e médicos,
10:07
who dedicate their lives to this battle.
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que dedicam a vida a essa batalha.
10:12
And we keep going,
thanks to inspiration from patients.
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Continuamos, graças
à inspiração dos pacientes.
10:17
And I believe that if we keep working
on these nanomedicines,
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Acredito que, se continuarmos
trabalhando nesses nanomedicamentos,
10:21
we will be able to reduce harm
to healthy organs,
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conseguiremos reduzir os danos
a órgãos saudáveis,
10:25
improve quality of life
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melhorar a qualidade de vida
10:27
and save future patients.
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e salvar futuros pacientes.
10:32
I like to imagine
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Gosto de imaginar
10:34
that if these treatments
had been available for Rebecca,
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que, se esses tratamentos
estivessem disponíveis para Rebecca,
10:39
that call from her
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aquela ligação dela
10:41
could have been an invitation
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poderia ter sido um convite
10:44
not to her funeral,
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não para o enterro,
10:46
but her wedding.
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mas para o casamento dela.
10:47
Thank you.
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Obrigada.
10:48
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Maurício Kakuei Tanaka
Reviewed by Leonardo Silva

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joy Wolfram - Nanotechnologist
Joy Wolfram leads a nanomedicine research lab with the goal of developing innovative nanoparticles that bring the next generation of treatments directly to the clinic.

Why you should listen

Dr. Joy Wolfram has designed many preclinical nanoparticles for treating cancer and other life-threatening diseases, and has authored more than 50 publications in the past five years. She is the director of the Nanomedicine and Extracellular Vesicles Laboratory at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and holds affiliate faculty positions at the Houston Methodist Hospital, the University of North Florida and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is a board member and scientific advisor of several companies around the world with a cumulative customer base of more than 18 million.

Wolfram's mission is to inspire and support underrepresented minorities in science. She is actively involved in community outreach and scientific education, including serving as the chair of an education and outreach working group of the National Cancer Institute in the United States. She was included in the Amgen Scholars "ten to watch" list, which highlights the best and brightest up-and-comers in science and medicine across 42 countries.

A native of Finland, Wolfram was selected as one of 12 internationally accomplished Finns, alongside Nobel laureates. She was also listed on the Forbes "30 under 30" in healthcare in 2019. Additionally, she is part of the Global Young Academy, which represents 83 countries and is limited to 200 members who are selected based on scientific excellence and commitment to service.

More profile about the speaker
Joy Wolfram | Speaker | TED.com