Meet Rami Chakroun, fifth year PhD candidate at INBT and in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department. This Hopkins engineer is using nanotechnology to develop a biodegradable hydrogel, a highly dense network of nanofibers, to treat glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that grows and spreads rapidly.

The primary treatment for most patients with glioblastoma is surgical removal of the tumor. However, because this cancer is so aggressive and grows into healthy brain tissue, complete removal of the tumor is difficult and often results in the tumor growing back. With the help of his mentor, Honggang Cui, Rami is working to reformulate current cancer drugs to form a degradable hydrogel that surgeons can implant in the brain to kill remaining cancer cells and to stop the tumor from growing back.

Story and video by Gina Wadas