Yallapu Awarded NIH Grant

Murali M. Yallapu, PhD, assistant professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, was awarded a three year grant totaling $480,000 from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate the role of prostate specific membrane antigen targeted docetaxel loaded magnetic nanoparticles for prostate cancer therapy. Docetaxel has been used since its approval by the FDA in 2004 for metastatic prostate cancer, a disease that is widespread and a source of high morbidity and mortality amongst men in the United States. This medication has proven itself very useful in the treatment of this disease, but its efficacy is limited by poor water solubility, severe adverse effects, and resistance. With the inadequate alternative therapies currently available for patients with metastatic prostate cancer, Dr. Yallapu’s research has turned to the use of docetaxel loaded magnetic nanoparticles to increase the effectiveness of this medication. Use of this technology increases the uptake of docetaxel into the cancer cells, reducing resistance to the medication; it is also helpful in enhancing imaging of the prostate tumor. Other co-investigators for this project include Drs. Subhash C. Chauhan, Meena Jaggi, Duane Miller, Daruka Mahadevan, and Stephen W. Behrman.