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

乔伊·沃尔夫拉姆: 纳米粒子如何改变治疗癌症的方式

Filmed:
299,183 views

百分之九十的癌症药物都不会到达肿瘤。在药物生效之前,它们就会被身体排出。我们该如何改善这些救命药呢?癌症研究人员乔伊·沃尔夫拉姆(乔伊·沃尔夫拉姆)分享了纳米粒子的前沿研究——纳米粒子是能够被用来准确运输癌症药物的微小粒子。乔伊还解释了纳米粒子是如何给药物更多时间发挥功效的。
- 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星期日 afternoon下午
back in April四月 of this year.
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去年四月一个周日的下午,
00:17
My phone电话 was ringing铃声,
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我收到了一个电话。
00:19
I picked采摘的 it up.
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我接了起来,
00:21
The voice语音 said, "It's Rebecca丽贝卡.
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“我是丽贝卡,
00:24
I'm just calling调用 to invite邀请 you
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我给你打电话,
00:27
to my funeral葬礼."
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是为了邀请你来我的葬礼。”
00:30
I said, "Rebecca丽贝卡,
what are you talking about?"
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我说,“丽贝卡,你在说什么?”
00:33
She said, "Joy喜悦, as my friend朋友,
you have to let me go.
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她说,“乔伊,
作为我的朋友,你需要放手,
是时候让我离开了。”
00:39
It's my time."
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00:41
The next下一个 day, she was dead.
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第二天,她去世了。
00:46
Rebecca丽贝卡 was 31 years年份 old when she died死亡.
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丽贝卡去世时才31岁。
00:49
She had an eight-year八年 struggle斗争
with breast乳房 cancer癌症.
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她和乳腺癌斗争了八年。
00:53
It came来了 back three times.
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癌症复发了三次。
00:55
I failed失败 her.
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我让她失望了。
00:58
The scientific科学 community社区 failed失败 her.
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科学界让她失望了。
01:01
And the medical community社区 failed失败 her.
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医疗界也让她失望了。
01:05
And she's not the only one.
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而且她不是唯一一个。
01:07
Every一切 five seconds,
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每五秒钟,
01:09
someone有人 dies of cancer癌症.
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就有一个人死于癌症。
01:13
Today今天, we medical
researchers研究人员 are committed提交
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当下,我们医疗研究者
下决心不让像丽贝卡和
01:17
to having Rebecca丽贝卡 and people like her
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01:20
be one of the last patients耐心 that we fail失败.
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像她这样的人再失望。
01:24
The US government政府 alone单独 has spent花费
over 100 billion十亿 on cancer癌症 research研究
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自二十世纪七十年代,美国政府
已经花了将近一千亿美元
来研究癌症。
01:30
since以来 the 1970s,
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01:32
with limited有限 progress进展
in regards问候 to patient患者 survival生存,
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可是病人的存活率
却没有很大的改善,
01:36
especially特别 for certain某些 types类型
of very aggressive侵略性 cancers癌症.
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特别是某些非常有侵略性的癌症。
01:40
So we need a change更改 because, clearly明确地,
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所以我们需要改变,
01:43
what we've我们已经 been doing so far
has not been working加工.
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我们所做的并没有很突出的成效。
01:48
And what we do in medicine医学
is to send发送 out firefighters消防员,
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我们就像是派出消防员,
01:51
because cancer癌症 is like a big fire.
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来消灭烈火燎原一般的癌症。
01:54
And these firefighters消防员
are the cancer癌症 drugs毒品.
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这些消防员就是治疗癌症的药物。
01:58
But we're sending发出 them out
without a fire truck卡车 --
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但是我们没有给它们消防车,
02:02
so without transportation运输, without ladders梯子
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没有运输工具,没有云梯,
02:05
and without emergency equipment设备.
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没有应急设备。
02:08
And over 99 percent百分 of these firefighters消防员
never make it to the fire.
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所以超过99%的
消防员都到达不了火场。
02:15
Over 99 percent百分 of cancer癌症 drugs毒品
never make it to the tumor
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超过99%的癌症药物
都到达不了肿瘤,
02:20
because they lack缺乏 transportation运输 and tools工具
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因为它们缺少运输方式和工具
02:24
to take them to the location位置
they're aiming瞄准 for.
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让它们到达目的地。
02:29
Turns out, it really is all about
location位置, location位置, location位置.
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而这就跟房地产一样,
地点非常非常重要。
02:33
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
02:35
So we need a fire truck卡车
to get to the right location位置.
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所以我们需要
让癌症药物到达准确的地点。
02:40
And I'm here to tell you
that nanoparticles纳米粒子 are the fire trucks卡车.
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我认为纳米粒子就是
我们所需要的工具。
02:45
We can load加载 cancer癌症 drugs毒品
inside nanoparticles纳米粒子,
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我们可以把癌症药物
放在纳米粒子里面,
02:49
and nanoparticles纳米粒子
can function功能 as the carrier支架
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这些粒子就是能够
让药物到达肿瘤中心
02:53
and necessary必要 equipment设备
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的载体和必要工具。
02:55
to bring带来 the cancer癌症 drugs毒品
to the heart of the tumor.
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03:00
So what are nanoparticles纳米粒子,
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什么是纳米粒子,
03:01
and what does it really mean
to be nano-sized纳米尺寸?
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纳米到底是多大?
03:05
Well, there are many许多 different不同
types类型 of nanoparticles纳米粒子
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纳米粒子有很多种,
03:09
made制作 out of various各个 materials物料,
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由不同的材料组成,
03:10
such这样 as metal-based金属基 nanoparticles纳米粒子
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比如金属基纳米粒子,
03:14
or fat-based脂肪基 nanoparticles纳米粒子.
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或者脂肪基纳米粒子。
03:17
But to really illustrate说明
what it means手段 to be nano-sized纳米尺寸,
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但是为了展示纳米材料的大小,
03:20
I took one of my hair头发 strands
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我拿了我的一根头发
03:23
and placed放置 it under the microscope显微镜.
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放在显微镜下。
03:26
Now, I have very thin hair头发,
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我的头发很细,
03:27
so my hair头发 is approximately
40,000 nanometers纳米 in diameter直径.
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它的直径差不多是四万纳米。
03:33
So this means手段, if we take
400 of our nanoparticles纳米粒子
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这意味着四百个纳米粒子
03:36
and we stack them on top最佳 of each other,
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一个一个叠在一起,
03:39
we get the thickness厚度
of a single hair头发 strand.
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就是一根头发的厚度。
03:43
I lead a nanoparticle纳米粒子 laboratory实验室
to fight斗争 cancer癌症 and other diseases疾病
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我在杰克逊维尔当地的
梅奥诊所领导着一个用纳米粒子
03:49
at Mayo梅奥 Clinic诊所 here in Jacksonville杰克逊维尔.
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治疗癌症和其它疾病的实验室。
03:52
And at Mayo梅奥 Clinic诊所,
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在梅奥诊所,
03:53
we really have the tools工具
to make a difference区别 for patients耐心,
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我们拥有能够改变病人生活的工具,
03:57
thanks谢谢 to the generous慷慨 donations捐款
and grants补助 to fund基金 our research研究.
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这要归功于
赠予实验室的大量捐款。
04:03
And so, how do these nanoparticles纳米粒子
manage管理 to transport运输 cancer癌症 drugs毒品
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这些纳米粒子又是怎么
把癌症药物运送到肿瘤的呢?
04:08
to the tumor?
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04:09
Well, they have an extensive广泛 toolbox工具箱.
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它们的方法和工具有很多。
04:13
Cancer癌症 drugs毒品 without nanoparticles纳米粒子
are quickly很快 washed out of the body身体
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没有纳米粒子的
癌症药物会被肾脏
04:18
through通过 the kidneys肾脏
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快速的排出,
04:19
because they're so small.
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因为它们太小了。
04:21
So it's like water going through通过 a sieve.
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就像是水流过漏斗一样。
04:24
And so they don't really have time
to reach达到 the tumor.
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所以它们没有时间到达肿瘤。
04:27
Here we see an illustration插图 of this.
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这是一个过程的演示。
04:30
We have the firefighters消防员,
the cancer癌症 drugs毒品.
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癌症药物,就是消防员,
04:32
They're circulating循环 in the blood血液,
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它们在血液里循环,
04:34
but they're quickly很快
washed out of the body身体
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但是它们很快被身体排出,
04:36
and they don't really end结束 up
inside the tumor.
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而根本不会到达肿瘤。
04:40
But if we put these cancer癌症 drugs毒品
inside nanoparticles纳米粒子,
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但是如果把它们放在纳米粒子里,
04:45
they will not get washed out by the body身体
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它们就不会被身体排出,
04:47
because the nanoparticles纳米粒子 are too big.
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因为纳米粒子太大了。
04:49
And they will continue继续
to circulate流通 in the blood血液,
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所以它们会继续在血液里循环,
04:52
giving them more time to find the tumor.
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就有更多的时间找到肿瘤。
04:56
And here we see the cancer癌症 drug药物,
the firefighters消防员,
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这里我们可以看到
癌症药物,就是消防员,
04:58
inside the fire truck卡车, the nanoparticles纳米粒子.
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在纳米粒子“消防车”里。
05:02
They're circulating循环 in the blood血液,
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它们在血液里循环,
05:04
they don't get washed out
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不会被排出,
05:05
and they actually其实 end结束 up
reaching到达 the tumor.
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它们最后到达了肿瘤。
05:11
And so what other tools工具
do nanoparticles纳米粒子 have?
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纳米粒子还有什么功能?
05:14
Well, they can protect保护 cancer癌症 drugs毒品
from getting得到 destroyed销毁 inside the body身体.
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它们可以保护药物不被损坏。
05:20
There are certain某些 very important重要
but sensitive敏感 drugs毒品
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有些非常重要但很脆弱的药物
05:24
that are easily容易 degraded降级
by enzymes in the blood血液.
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很容易会被血液里的酶给分解。
05:27
So unless除非 they have
this nanoparticle纳米粒子 protection保护,
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所以除非它们有
这些纳米粒子的保护,
05:30
they will not be able能够 to function功能.
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它们就不会发挥功效。
05:34
Another另一个 nanoparticle纳米粒子 tool工具
are these surface表面 extensions扩展
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纳米粒子的另一个作用是
这些表面上的触角,
05:37
that are like tiny hands with fingers手指
that grab on to the tumor
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它们像小手一样能够抓住肿瘤,
05:42
and fit适合 exactly究竟 onto it,
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丝毫不松手。
05:44
so that when the nanoparticles纳米粒子
are circulating循环,
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所以当纳米粒子在血液里循环,
05:46
they can attach连接 onto the cancer癌症 cells细胞,
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它们会粘附在癌症细胞上,
05:49
buying购买 the cancer癌症 drugs毒品
more time to do their job工作.
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让癌症药物有更多的时间发挥功效。
05:53
And these are just some of the many许多 tools工具
that nanoparticles纳米粒子 can have.
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这些还不是纳米粒子的全部作用。
05:58
And today今天,
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现在,
05:59
we have more than 10 clinically临床 approved批准
nanoparticles纳米粒子 for cancer癌症
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我们给了世界各地的病人
超过10种临床批准的
癌症治疗纳米粒子。
06:03
that are given特定 to patients耐心
all over the world世界.
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06:08
Yet然而, we have patients耐心,
like Rebecca丽贝卡, who die.
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当然,还是有病人
像丽贝卡这样,没能幸存。
06:13
So what are the major重大的
challenges挑战 and limitations限制
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现有的纳米粒子技术
06:17
with currently目前 approved批准 nanoparticles纳米粒子?
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有什么主要的挑战和缺陷呢?
06:21
Well, a major重大的 challenge挑战 is the liver,
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一个主要的挑战是肝,
06:24
because the liver is the body's身体的
filtration过滤 system系统,
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肝是人体的过滤系统,
06:28
and the liver recognizes识别
and destroys破阵 foreign国外 objects对象,
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可以识别并销毁外来物体,
06:31
such这样 as viruses病毒, bacteria
and also nanoparticles纳米粒子.
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比如病毒、细菌和纳米粒子。
06:36
And the immune免疫的 cells细胞 in the liver
eat the nanoparticles纳米粒子,
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肝里的免疫细胞会吞噬纳米粒子,
06:39
preventing防止 them from reaching到达 the tumor.
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让它们到不了肿瘤。
06:45
And here we see an illustration插图
where the kidney is no longer a problem问题,
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这个演示表明
通过肾脏已经不是问题,
06:49
but these fire trucks卡车, the nanoparticles纳米粒子,
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但是这些纳米粒子,
06:51
get stuck卡住 in the liver
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会被卡在肝里,
06:53
and, actually其实, less of them
end结束 up reaching到达 the tumor.
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很少会到达肿瘤。
06:59
So a future未来 strategy战略
to improve提高 nanoparticles纳米粒子
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改善纳米粒子的可行方案
07:02
is to temporarily暂时 disarm撤防
the immune免疫的 cells细胞 in the liver.
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是暂时性地关闭
肝脏中的免疫细胞。
07:07
So how do we disarm撤防 these cells细胞?
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我们怎么做到呢?
07:09
Well, we looked看着 at drugs毒品
that were already已经 clinically临床 approved批准
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我们查看了其他
有临床批准的药物,
07:13
for other indications适应症
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07:15
to see if any of them
could stop the immune免疫的 cells细胞
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看它们能不能让免疫细胞
07:18
from eating the nanoparticles纳米粒子.
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不吞噬纳米粒子。
07:21
And unexpectedly不料,
in one of our preclinical临床前 studies学习,
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出乎意料,在之前的研究里,
07:25
we found发现 that a 70-year-old-岁 malaria疟疾 drug药物
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我们找到了一个70年前的疟疾药物。
07:30
was able能够 to stop the immune免疫的 cells细胞
from internalizing内在 the nanoparticles纳米粒子
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它能够让免疫细胞不吞噬纳米粒子,
07:34
so that they could escape逃逸 the liver
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这样纳米粒子就能够通过肝
07:37
and continue继续 their journey旅程
to their goal目标, the tumor.
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并继续循环到肿瘤。
07:42
And here we see the illustration插图
of blocking闭塞 the liver.
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从这张图可以看到肝被关闭。
07:45
The nanoparticles纳米粒子 don't go there,
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纳米粒子不会到达肝,
07:47
and they instead代替 end结束 up in the tumor.
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而会最后到达肿瘤。
07:51
So, sometimes有时, unexpected意外 connections连接
are made制作 in science科学
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有的时候,科学中
一些意想不到的联系
07:55
that lead to new solutions解决方案.
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能够带领我们找到新的解决方法。
07:59
Another另一个 strategy战略
for preventing防止 nanoparticles纳米粒子
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另外一个不让纳米粒子
被肝过滤的方法,
08:03
from getting得到 stuck卡住 in the liver
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08:06
is to use the body's身体的 own拥有 nanoparticles纳米粒子.
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是用我们身体自带的纳米粒子。
08:09
Yes -- surprise, surprise.
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没有错,想不到吧?
08:10
You, and you and you, and all of us
have a lot of nanoparticles纳米粒子
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我们所有人体内都有很多纳米粒子
08:16
circulating循环 in our bodies身体.
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在我们的血液里循环。
08:18
And because they're part部分 of our bodies身体,
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因为它们是我们身体的一部分,
08:21
the liver is less likely容易
to label标签 them as foreign国外.
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肝就更不可能会
把它们当成外来物。
08:26
And these biological生物 nanoparticles纳米粒子
can be found发现 in the saliva唾液,
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这些人体的纳米粒子可以在唾液、
08:30
in the blood血液, in the urine尿,
in pancreatic juice果汁.
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血液、尿液和胰液里找到。
08:33
And we can collect搜集 them from the body身体
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我们可以从身体里提取这些液体,
08:35
and use them as fire trucks卡车
for cancer癌症 drugs毒品.
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并把它们当成癌症药物的消防车。
08:40
And in this case案件,
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这样,
08:42
the immune免疫的 cells细胞 in the liver
are less likely容易 to eat
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肝里面的免疫细胞就更不会
08:45
the biological生物 nanoparticles纳米粒子.
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吞噬这些纳米粒子。
08:47
So we're using运用
a Trojan-horse-based基于特洛伊木马 concept概念
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这个方式很像特洛伊木马,
08:50
to fool傻子 the liver.
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来欺骗肝。
08:52
And here we see
the biological生物 nanoparticles纳米粒子
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这里我们看到纳米粒子
08:55
circulating循环 in the blood血液.
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在血液里循环。
08:56
They don't get recognized认可 by the liver,
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它们不会被肝识别,
08:59
and they end结束 up in the tumor.
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并最后到达肿瘤。
09:02
And in the future未来,
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在未来,
09:03
we want to exploit利用
nature's大自然 own拥有 nanoparticles纳米粒子
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我们想用非人造的纳米粒子
09:07
for cancer癌症 drug药物 delivery交货,
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来当癌症药物的运载工具,
09:10
to reduce减少 side effects效果 and save保存 lives生活
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并减少副作用和保护肝,
09:13
by preventing防止 the cancer癌症 drugs毒品
from being存在 in the wrong错误 location位置.
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让癌症药物直达肿瘤。
09:19
However然而, a major重大的 problem问题 has been:
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但是,一个很重要的问题是
09:21
How do we isolate隔离 these biological生物
nanoparticles纳米粒子 in large quantities数量
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我们如何大量抽取这些纳米粒子
09:27
without damaging有害 them?
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而不损坏它们?
09:30
My lab实验室 has developed发达
an efficient高效 method方法 for doing this.
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我的实验室研究出了
一种有效的方法。
09:33
We can process处理 large quantities数量
of liquids液体 from the body身体
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我们可以用大量体液
09:38
to produce生产 a highly高度 concentrated集中,
high-quality高质量 formulation公式
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来产出高浓度高质量的
09:43
of biological生物 nanoparticles纳米粒子.
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纳米粒子。
09:46
And these nanoparticles纳米粒子
are not yet然而 in clinical临床 use,
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这些纳米粒子还没有被投入使用,
09:50
because it takes an average平均 of 12 years年份
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因为把实验室的研究
09:53
to get something from the lab实验室
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放到你的药箱里,
09:55
to your medicine医学 cabinet内阁.
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一般需要12年。
10:00
And this is the type类型 of challenge挑战
that requires要求 teamwork团队合作
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面对这样的挑战,
需要投身于这场战斗的
10:04
from scientists科学家们 and physicians医师,
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科学家和医师团队协作。
10:07
who dedicate奉献 their lives生活 to this battle战斗.
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10:12
And we keep going,
thanks谢谢 to inspiration灵感 from patients耐心.
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为了病人们,·我们要坚持不懈。
10:17
And I believe that if we keep working加工
on these nanomedicines纳米药物,
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我相信如果我们继续研发
这些纳米药物,
10:21
we will be able能够 to reduce减少 harm危害
to healthy健康 organs器官,
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就能够减少对器官的损伤,
10:25
improve提高 quality质量 of life
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提高病人的生活质量,
10:27
and save保存 future未来 patients耐心.
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并挽救他们的生命。
10:32
I like to imagine想像
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我喜欢想象
10:34
that if these treatments治疗
had been available可得到 for Rebecca丽贝卡,
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如果有人提供给丽贝卡
这些治疗方案,
10:39
that call from her
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她的那个电话,
10:41
could have been an invitation请帖
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就可能会是邀请我
10:44
not to her funeral葬礼,
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去她的婚礼,
10:46
but her wedding婚礼.
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而不是葬礼。
10:47
Thank you.
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谢谢。
10:48
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
Translated by Conway Ye

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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