The Graeme Clark Oration - Australia's most prestigious free public science event
Bridging disciplines,
breaking barriers
How applying chemical engineering approaches to medicine paved the way for nanotechnology, novel biomaterials, and new ways to address global health challenges.
Dr Robert Langer ScD
Massachusetts Instituteof Technology (MIT)
To be presented at the Carillo Gantner Theatre,
Sidney Myer Asia Centre, 761 Swanston Street Parkville
Tuesday, 12 November 2024
6.00 pm – 7.15 pm
FREE REGISTRATION
The 2024 Graeme Clark Oration
Bridging disciplines, breaking barriers
The early development of controlled release systems for macromolecules and the isolation of angiogenesis inhibitors have significantly influenced the landscape of modern therapeutics. These foundational research efforts led to the creation of numerous new therapies by enabling more precise and sustained delivery of drugs, particularly in the treatment of cancer and other chronic illnesses.
Building on these early breakthroughs, nanotechnology has emerged as a transformative force in drug delivery. Nanoparticles can encapsulate drugs, improving their stability, bioavailability, and targeting capabilities. This technology is particularly beneficial in cancer therapy, where nanoparticles can deliver drugs directly to tumor sites, reducing systemic toxicity and enhancing therapeutic efficacy.
Nanotechnology has also played a crucial role in vaccine delivery, exemplified by the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines that utilize lipid nanoparticles to protect and deliver genetic material effectively.
Advanced drug delivery systems are having an enormous impact on human health. Dr Langer will discuss his early research on developing the first controlled release systems for macromolecules and the isolation of angiogenesis inhibitors and how these led to numerous new therapies. This early research then led to new drug delivery technologies including nanoparticles and nanotechnology that are now being used for treating cancer, other illnesses and in vaccine delivery including COVID vaccines. In addition, by combining mammalian cells, including stem cells, with synthetic polymers, new approaches for engineering tissues are being developed that may someday help in various diseases. Examples in the areas of cartilage, skin, and blood vessels, will be discussed.
About Dr Robert Langer
Robert Langer is one of 8 Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); being an Institute Professor is the highest honour that can be awarded to a faculty member.
He has written over 1,600 articles, which have been cited over 434,300 times; his h-index of 327 is the highest of any engineer in history and the 3rd highest of any individual in any field. His (over 1,495) patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 400 companies; he is a cofounder of over 40 companies including Moderna.
Dr Langer served as Chairman of the FDA’s Science Board (its highest advisory board) from 1999-2002. His over 220 awards include both the United States National Medal of Science and the United States National Medal of Technology and Innovation (he is one of 3 living individuals to have received both these honours), the Charles Stark Draper Prize (often called the Engineering Nobel Prize), Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, Albany Medical Center Prize, Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, Kyoto Prize, Wolf Prize for Chemistry, Millennium Technology Prize, Priestley Medal (highest award of the American Chemical Society), Gairdner Prize, Hoover Medal, Dreyfus Prize in Chemical Sciences, BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biomedicine, Balzan Prize, and the Dr. Paul Janssen Award.
He holds 42 honorary doctorates, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and Northwestern, and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors.
VIEW A SHORT MESSAGE FROM DR LANGER HERE
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The Graeme Clark Oration
The Graeme Clark Oration is delivered by global leaders in health and medical science in honour of Prof. Graeme Clark’s pioneering work in developing the bionic ear in Melbourne in the 1970’s. It is recognised as Australia’s most prestigious free public science event and is attended by secondary school students.
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