Angela Zhang, a 17 year old student in California, has won the 2011 national science prize from Siemens for her research on specific drug delivery to cancerous tumors.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Zhang developed an iron oxide and gold-based nanoparticle that is capable of killing cancer stem cells when selectively delivered to the tumor site with the drug salinomycin. The particle is also able to release treatment when activated by a laser and can be tracked with MRI.
The idea is still years away from being used in patients, however. Zhang says it could take 25 years between clinical trials and other steps before her research is helping patients.
