Vinu Krishnan, a doctoral candidate in materials science and engineering at the University of Delaware and a research student of A. K. Rajasekaran, PhD, Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, was selected from a national field of competitors as a recipient of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR)’s Gerald B. Grindey Memorial Scholar-in-Training Award for the best preclinical paper published in 2012.

Krishnan is among prestigious company, with competition representing institutions such as Harvard and MIT. One award is presented each year to the most meritorious proffered paper in the field of preclinical science. The award, a compelling reflection of the quality and the significance of Nemours’ work in childhood cancer research, will enable Krishnan to present the study at the 2013 AACR Annual Meeting to be held in Washington, DC,
in April.

Krishnan was a featured presenter at the recent Delaware Bioscience Association’s annual conference. His presentation: "Nanomedicine, a Safe and Viable Therapeutic Strategy in Treatment of Pediatric Leukemia" discussed the ability of nanotechnology developed by Dr. Rajasekaran and colleagues to potentially deliver chemotherapy to children in a way that attacks cancer cells without harming healthy cells, greatly reducing side effects. The work was recently published in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

His co-presenter at the conference, Xian Xu, a UD doctoral candidate in materials science and engineering and a student of UD’s Xinqiao Jia, PhD, presented "Dexamethasone-Loaded Block Copolymer Nanoparticles Induce Leukemia Cell Death and Enhance Therapeutic Efficacy: A Novel Application in Pediatric Nanomedicine." Together, the researchers showed that the most commonly used leukemia-fighting drug, dexamethasone, can be successfully encapsulated in nanoparticles and used for treatment of leukemia in preclinical models. The outcome of this study is that for the first time it paves the way for developing nanoparticle-based drug delivery as potential option to treat pediatric leukemia.

The Delaware Bioscience Association supported the nanotechnology work led by Dr. Rajasekaran by recognizing him with the Winterfest award to continue this important work. Paul Kempinski, COO, Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and Dr. Rajasekaran were invited as special guests for the award presentation.