Dr. Krishnan Venkatakrishnan

If you want a weed-free garden, you can’t just chop the tops off the plants – you need to extract the whole root system. Similarly, if you want an effective cancer therapy, it’s best to target the cancer stem cells specifically, which are at the root of the disease. For Krishnan Venkatakrishnan, this is the most intriguing application of his work in laser-fabricated micro and nano structures, an area which also has broader functions in solar energy and DNA detection.

Venkatakrishnan’s nano probes pose a triple threat to cancer: they can detect, monitor and kill individual cells. This allows for earlier and more accurate identification of specific cancers than a biopsy or MRI scan provide. In addition, locating the stem cells responsible for reproducing and sustaining the cancer allows for treatment to be more targeted and personalized. 

While his probes can help people recover and regain their health today, in the future, Venkatakrishnan hopes to use them for cancer prevention. “We want to know what initiates the disease,” he says. “That’s the ultimate goal.”