Shanta Dhar, Ph.D., FRSC, assistant director of technology and innovation and associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology identifies how to overcome barriers to precisely target mitochondria—the part of each cell that generates the energy needed for biochemical reactions.

“I have always looked to make things simple,” said Dr. Dhar, a full member of Sylvester’s Translational and Clinical Oncology Program and co-leader of the Engineering Cancer Cure Program.

In 2023, Dr. Dhar was named a National Academy of Inventors Fellow, yet another milestone of her trailblazing career. It reflects her accomplishments in technologies for mitochondrial nanomedicine and the development of prodrugs with modulated mechanisms of action.

Dr. Dhar and her team recently worked on an anti-cancer compound to help overcome prostate cancer tumors’ resistance to standard chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin. Her team also showed that the compound Platin-L could be loaded in targeted nanoparticles, making the compound available orally. The journal ACS Central Science published the research in July 2023.