Assaf Zinger, PhD

About the Investigator:

Dr. Zinger’s group examines how membrane proteins extracted from native cells can be incorporated into nanometric drug delivery systems to improve the treatment of breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from The Technion, then performed his postdoctoral studies at Houston Methodist Academic Institute in Texas. When he returned to Israel, he rejoined The Technion, where he is currently an Assistant Professor. Dr. Zinger has been awarded more than 15 international and national excellence awards, among them the Alon Scholarship for Outstanding Young Scientists.

About the Research:

Resected tumors provide a rich source of cancer-specific markers. Dr. Zinger and his team will use material from these tumors to create personalized nanoparticles, called Episomes. These episomes are made from the patient’s tumor cell membrane proteins combined with FDA-approved synthetic lipids.

Episomes are designed to boost the patient’s immune system after the primary tumor has been removed, aiming to prevent the cancer from coming back or spreading. The Zinger lab believes that these episomes, coated with cancer markers from the patient’s own tumor, may eventually be used as personalized immunotherapy to prevent recurrence and metastasis.

If successful, Dr. Zinger’s research should produce the first nanoparticles made from resected tumor material, and the episomes platform should eventually enable personalized cancer treatment to prevent the tumor from returning and spreading. Additionally, since episomes can also be loaded with diagnostic agents for non-invasive, in vivo imaging, they could potentially lead to new cancer screening methods, in addition to improving cancer treatment outcomes.