Last June took place the fourth edition of the Jané Mateu Foundation Awards and Grants. These grants are awarded in recognition of talent, dedication, and commitment to research and excellence in high-impact areas for human health, such as oncology and metabolic disorders. In this edition, 4 grants were awarded in these fields, along with one specific grant for dermatology projects.
“The Jané Mateu grant will allow me to start working on my own line of research for the treatment of pediatric glioblastoma”
Interview with Dr. Jennifer Fernández, researcher at the Nanother-Nanotherapies Lab at IQS
Dr. Jennifer Fernández Alcorcón, a postdoctoral researcher at the Nanother – Nanotherapies Lab of IQS, secured one of the 4 grants allocated to oncology projects in this edition. Dr. Fernández’s project focuses on the development of a new therapy for pediatric glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive brain tumors with the fewest therapeutic options currently available. The proposal consists of an implantable alginate hydrogel applied after surgical tumor resection, which combines two complementary strategies: the local release of immunotherapy using anti-PD-L1 and a localized hyperthermic effect designed to eliminate residual cancer cells. The goal of this approach is to reduce tumor recurrence, boost the immune system’s response against cancer, and advance towards more effective and less aggressive treatments for pediatric patients.
We spoke with Dr. Fernández about this granted award, her research career, and her projects at IQS.
Jennifer, tell us about your research career leading up to IQS.
I studied a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and a Master’s in Translational Medicine at the University of Barcelona. Later, I did my PhD as a Marie Curie researcher at the Mario Negri Institute associated with the University of Milan-Bicocca. My thesis was about biodistribution studies of functionalized nanoparticles, using mouse models. This is my area of expertise.
When I finished my thesis, I wanted to return to Barcelona and I saw that Dr. Cristina Fornaguera’s group at IQS had a postdoc opening to work on a research line related to the development of a hydrogel for aortic endovascular repair -Marfan syndrome – with gene therapy, based on magnetic nanoparticles. And that is how I joined IQS 3 years ago.
And since then, have you been able to develop your own line of research?
At the beginning, I started at Nanother working with Dra. Yvette Rabadà on the Marfan syndrome project: she created the superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and I handled the development of the hydrogel. That is how I started working in the group’s world of biopolymers and biomaterials.
Meanwhile, I searched the literature for other types of hydrogels with different applications, and I found alginate hydrogels, which I thought were very interesting. These hydrogels are polymers used in oncology treatments because they act as ‘smart’ vehicles for drug transport and allow their controlled release directly into the tumor. They have hyperthermic properties, which favors their activity in these treatments, and I found them very interesting to explore.
“Alginate hydrogels are very interesting due to their applications in oncology treatments.”
I started running tests with different salts (in the literature I had primarily found the use of calcium salts) and testing them with different cells, aiming to study how they reacted. I observed that, depending on the ions I used, I achieved greater effectiveness in killing cancer cells. I tested some of these alginate hydrogels in mice and saw that, indeed, they controlled tumor growth. We conducted trials with five different cell lines: lung cancer, breast cancer, glioblastoma, melanoma, and hepatocarcinoma. It seemed they were more effective with melanoma cells and we focused on this type of cancer, managing to carry out the entire preclinical study.
But you switched to pediatric glioblastoma…
Yes, because I thought that, once we saw they worked and controlled tumor growth, it was worth testing them on pediatric glioblastoma, a type of tumor for which there is currently no effective pharmacological treatment or chemotherapy.
“It was worth testing these hydrogels for pediatric glioblastoma, which currently lacks any effective treatment.”
Thus, I saw the opportunity to focus on this type of cancer, create my own line of research, and try to stay at IQS, if the opportunity arises. I applied for the Jané Mateu grants with this specific project, and I was awarded one of the four in this edition!
What are the Jané Mateu grants and what does this award mean to you?
Jané Mateu is a private foundation associated with the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona, which in each call grants five small, one-year scholarships: four for oncology projects and one for dermatology. I have been awarded one of the four oncology research grants , which will help me start this line of research. I hesitated at first, but now I am very happy to have done it and achieved it.
“I have been awarded one of the four oncology research grants.”
Furthermore, for the future, the foundation is very interested in the development of this type of hydrogels. If it works with pediatric glioblastoma, which as I mentioned currently has no treatment, a very interesting line of collaboration could open up with the Hospital itself to seek solutions for pancreatic tumors, which are among the most aggressive and also lack treatment. Successfully developing a hydrogel that mitigates the effects of the tumor would help increase the life expectancy of these patients.
“Successfully developing a hydrogel capable of mitigating the tumor’s effects would help increase the life expectancy of these patients.”
What other lines do you collaborate on at the Nanother Lab at IQS?
In addition to this personal research line, I also collaborate on the development of other polymeric nanoparticles for different oncology treatments, within the various projects developed by the laboratory. In the group, they synthesize different polymers by introducing different functionalities through click chemistry reactions. For example, we are making ‘nanobodies’ for breast cancer therapies; we are functionalizing nanoparticles with sugars for new approaches to glycovaccines and to study their distribution in mice and their behavior against different types of cancer. We also work on creating hybrid systems of nanoparticles and extracellular vesicles to achieve more precise targeting towards cells, based on the structure of the extracellular vesicles themselves.
I really enjoy working at IQS because of the excellent instrumentation and available resources, as well as the collaborative environment among colleagues. In addition, I especially value the possibility of establishing internal collaborations with other research groups to develop related thematic lines, which I find very enriching and interesting.
