Dr. Danielle Benoit loves duct tape. Since she was a kid, she’s taken things apart just so she could figure out the best way to put them back together.
That passion for tinkering led the University of Oregon bioengineer to develop-- from scratch—therapeutic, biomaterial strategies to enhance bone regeneration.
“So, it can be-- if you have a really, severe fracture or in the context of bone thinning due to osteoporosis,” Benoit explained. “The platform technology really has the opportunity to also impact targeting of other tissues like tumors and cancer.”
In drug delivery, Benoit has worked in tissue targeting approaches that home in on target areas without affecting surrounding tissues, including treatments like chemotherapy. “Chemotherapies are notoriously challenging. You’re always walking a fine line between harming your patients and getting rid of the cancer cells,” she said.
“We are developing our drug delivery systems so you don’t have to be so close to that line, where you can precisely deliver drugs to the tumor.”
We might not think about how important our skeletal bits are--until something goes wrong. Then, it may be a relief to know there are scientists like Benoit working on these technologies.
Benoit’s bone research has led to ten patents. She is the UO’s inaugural Lorry Lokey Chair of the Department of Bioengineering and the seventh speaker in the Knight Campus Science Knight Out annual series.
On April 11, Dr Danielle Benoit will explore the science behind bone health at a free lecture titled “Precision Medicine for Better Bones.”
Science Knight Out is free and open to the public with registration available online. This year’s event is at 6:30 pm on April 11 at The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts (theshedd.org), 868 High Street at E Broadway, Eugene.
