Trailblazing Clinical Technology

“It was very exciting to be offered this recognition. It motivates me to keep working and developing my research,” says Dreifuss (28), a married mother of three. “I am enormously thankful to my supervisor, Prof. Rachela Popovtzer, and to the Faculty of Engineering at BIU for their support and all the resources and opportunities they provide us.”

After having acquired her BSc in Chemistry at BIU, Dreifuss took the direct PhD track in Bioengineering. She is currently working to develop technologies for early cancer detection using nanoparticles. “Today, one of the most common methods for cancer detection and follow-up is PET. The downside of PET is that it doesn’t distinguish between inflamed cells and cancerous cells – which often leads to false positive findings”, explains Dreifuss. “We were able to develope a technology simulating the PET scan, with the added value of identifying the actual tumor and differentiating it from inflammation, by using nanoparticles as CT contrast agents. While traditional contrast agents and drugs are dispersed throughout the whole body, nanoparticles can be specifically targeted to the tumor, thus enabling us to identify it and distinguish it from inflamed cells using a simple CT scan. This technology is beneficial not only for the detection and diagnosis processes, but also for the treatment. By coating the nanoparticles with the prescribed drugs, we are able to exceedingly improve treatment outcomes and dramatically reduce side effects, compared to other conventional treatment techniques. We hope that this technology will revolutionize future clinical treatments.”