Current Topics in Applied Medicine

Introduction to vaccines- discuss the basics of vaccines, including vaccines of infectious diseases vs. cancer vaccines and effective methods of vaccine delivery to achieve long-term memory immune response. Gene therapy- gene therapy for single gene disorders, cancer gene therapy, failures, and successes of gene therapies with current clinical status of cancer gene therapy. Immunotherapy- cancer immunotherapy, pros and cons of cancer immunotherapy, current status, and future targets for improvement. Drug development- drugs for cancer therapy, cellular targets of drugs for cancer therapy, and assays for drug screening and validation. Drug delivery- nanoparticles for drug delivery, exosomes, and cell membrane vesicles for developing biomimetic nano delivery vehicles for drug delivery to overcome immune system. Prerequisite: Application and acceptance to the MTRAM program.