Queen Elizabeth Prize in Engineering – 2015
1 million pound award for drug delivery technology
The pioneer of medical technologies that have helped millions of people has won the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. This award was created to support innovative scientists whose inventions have had a global impact on the world.
Professor Robert Langer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology received a million pounds for the further development of a system for the targeted delivery of drugs and microchip implants.
Snapshot from the site qeprize.org
Professor Langer's scientific articles have been cited more than 170,000 times, making him one of the most cited engineers in history. Also during his career, he patented more than a thousand of his inventions: it is believed that at least two billion people in any degree came into contact with the technologies developed by Langer and his team. He is also the owner of more than two hundred prestigious scientific awards.
Previous winners of the award were Internet pioneers and inventors of the World Wide Web, including Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
"I've always wanted to do something that would help people live happy and healthy," says Professor Langer. "For many years I had to work in a hospital and observe various medical problems, so I thought about what I could do to somehow improve the condition of people."
According to the scientist, he was delighted when he learned about the award, as the main purpose of the award is to inspire young people to achieve achievements in the field of engineering.
In the 1970s, despite opposition from medical and scientific institutions, Professor Langer was the first to use polymers that can gradually release complex drugs.
For a long time it was believed that large molecules used to treat diseases such as diabetes or cancer could not penetrate polymers (besides, large molecules are destroyed faster). However, Langer found a way to achieve his goal and developed devices that release regulated doses of drugs.
In partnership with surgeons at Boston Children's Hospital, he developed the first substances that can stop the proliferation of blood vessels in tumors – this process is called angiogenesis.
The aim of the researcher was to develop anti-cancer drugs that could only affect the tumor in order to avoid the usual negative effects on the entire body for the treatment of oncological diseases. For the work, the professor attracted researchers from various disciplines.
Combining materials science and medicine, Langer has made significant strides in tissue engineering using synthetic polymers. His technology was useful for creating artificial skin to help victims of burns and diabetic ulcers. Currently, methods for growing artificial cartilage and spinal cord are being developed.
Not so long ago, Professor Langer developed implants designed to release specific doses of drugs over the course of a year. These devices can be controlled remotely via wireless signals. It is planned that they will be used as female contraception and for the treatment of diabetes, osteoporosis and even malaria.
"When I started doing similar projects in the seventies, many considered it science fiction. We were even denied grants because such achievements seemed to be fiction," the scientist shares. "However, I have always believed in my ideas, and they have turned into reality."
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