{"447261":{"#nid":"447261","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A Better Understanding of Lymph Node Remodeling","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESusan Thomas, a faculty member of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, is at the forefront of research into the targeted delivery of drugs to battle cancer.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThomas and her lab team have designed lymphatic-seeking nanoparticles to promote anti-tumor immunity and hinder tumor growth, a strategy supported by a three-year grant from the Susan G. Komen Foundation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EBut, before this form of immunotherapy can be deployed, Thomas and her team are gathering important intelligence about the enemy, to ultimately improve lymphatic targeting ability.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cOne thing that\u2019s not really understood is how lymph nodes in healthy individuals are different from those in someone with a disease. That information can critically impact our ability to target therapeutics,\u201d says Thomas, who led a team of mostly undergraduate students in research that was recently published online in \u003Cem\u003EThe FASEB Journal\u003C\/em\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cThis is a first step toward a better understanding. But it\u2019s not just what are the cellular differences or histological differences \u2013 the things that clinicians think about. We\u2019re starting to define more the way engineers think of systems,\u201d says Thomas, main author of the paper, entitled \u201cLymph node biophysical remodeling is associated with melanoma lymphatic drainage.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThomas describes the research as a basic analysis of how tumor lymphatic drainage affects the lymph nodes.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe detect a lot of tumors or cancers when the patient detects a stiff growth,\u201d says Thomas, assistant professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, who recognizes that there are mechanical changes in the tumorous tissue, which make it different from healthy tissue.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe wanted to see if the same kind of change is happening in the lymph node,\u201d says Thomas, whose co-researchers on the project included one Ph.D. student (Nathan Rohner) and seven undergrads (Sara Tuell, Alex Warner, Blair Smith Younghu Hun, Abhinav Mohan and Manuela Sushinitha). \u201cAnd what we found is that there actually are stiffening responses in the lymph nodes, and it was associated specifically with tumor lymphatic drainage.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EA better understanding of the biophysical changes associated with tumor lymphatic drainage will inform future studies and, ultimately, lead to better ways to diagnose and treat cancer patients.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECONTACT:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Undergrads drive new cancer-related research from Thomas lab"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EUndergrads drive new cancer-related research from Thomas lab\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Undergrads drive new cancer-related research from Thomas lab"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2015-09-14 10:15:44","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:33","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-09-14T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-09-14T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"447231":{"id":"447231","type":"image","title":"Lymphatic system","body":null,"created":"1449256246","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 19:10:46","changed":"1475895187","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:07","alt":"Lymphatic system","file":{"fid":"203239","name":"lymphatic.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lymphatic_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/lymphatic_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1020239,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/lymphatic_0.jpg?itok=Y0-_4mOZ"}},"398621":{"id":"398621","type":"image","title":"Susan Thomas","body":null,"created":"1449246371","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:26:11","changed":"1475895115","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:51:55","alt":"Susan Thomas","file":{"fid":"75740","name":"susan_t.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/susan_t.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/susan_t.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1859198,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/susan_t.jpg?itok=-D7eJ-Gk"}}},"media_ids":["447231","398621"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"126221","name":"go-immuno"},{"id":"73611","name":"lymphatic system"},{"id":"141161","name":"targeted drug delivery"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}