Diandra Leslie-Pelecky

Not too far in the future, a diagnosis of cancer won't be a big deal: it will cost you another twenty minutes in the doctor's office while the doctor injects some nanoparticles that target and kill the cancer cells. Nanomedicine is an emerging research field that utilizes the unique properties of materials a hundredth the diameter of a human hair for medical diagnosis and treatment. We'll eventually be able to diagnose cancer at the level of a single cancer cell and use MRIs to investigate how the chemicals in your brain are doing their jobs. Sunscreen will automatically change its properties according to your sun exposure, and we'll be able to target drugs precisely to the part of the body that needs them, without affecting the areas that don't. Tiny sensors within the body will give you ample warning of a heart attack or stroke. This talk covers some of the most amazing developments in nanomedicine research that will start entering the clinic in the near term, as well as a few that already have.