Samuel Stupp of Northwestern University has achieved a significant breakthrough in the war against Alzheimer’s disease. With cutting-edge nanotherapy, this world-class expert in regenerative medicine has revealed exciting breakthroughs. Stupp is the Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine and Biomedical Engineering. He is director of a multidisciplinary team, working to manufacture, design and adjust creative therapeutic materials against neurodegenerative illnesses.
A recent research article appearing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society highlights a creative approach. Using these new unstable nanofibers, researchers stuck disease-causing proteins to the fibers, rendering them harmless. This innovative strategy has produced highly encouraging outcomes, improving the rescue of diseased neurons in multiple models of Alzheimer’s disease. Stupp’s lab has a phenomenal track record of innovations in this arena. In 2012 they synthesized a related compound that acted much more potently to stimulate increased production of insulin.
Zijun Gao, a Ph.D. candidate in Stupp’s laboratory, functioned as the primary author of this analysis. The team worked alongside Zaida Alvarez, now a postdoc at IBEC—Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia in Spain. As a co-corresponding author, she notes that she had an opportunity to carry out independent research as a postdoctoral fellow in Stupp’s lab. These kinds of interactions have become a hallmark of interdisciplinary scientific research today, and this collaboration is no different.
Stupp’s group has specialized in the use of peptide amphiphiles. These custom chains of amino acids are acting as key elements in creating life-saving therapies. This study recently published on the impact of trehalose, a naturally occurring sugar. You’d know its name if you looked for it in plants, fungi, and insects. This is an enormous advantage that peptide-based drugs have, as Stupp readily points out. They metabolize into non-toxic nutrients, which can eliminate the side effects commonly associated with traditional pharmaceuticals.
The results found are very promising. For Stupp, adding the nanotherapy to other treatment modalities has the potential for an even greater efficacy. He is dedicated to envisioning holistic solutions. To do this he has set his sights on solving especially complex neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and ALS.
Stupp’s appointments at Northwestern span the McCormick School of Engineering, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and Feinberg School of Medicine. These roles highlight his wide-ranging expertise and dedication to pushing the frontiers of medical science. His efforts lead to innovative ways of bending the cost curve while improving patient care. Equally important, he wants to change the game in regenerative medicine by making more areas available for therapeutic intervention.