Photo | nanomedicine

Light is the switch,
oxygen is the spark

We engineer light-activated theranostics — that deploy localized ROS bursts to combat cancer drug resistance.

Marta Overchuk, PhD

Department of Molecular Pharmaceutics, University of Utah

A Jablonski diagram drawn by hand, absorption to the singlet state, crossing to the triplet, and out to reactive oxygen species — Jablonski diagram, photosensitiserS₁ → T₁ → ROS

What we are working on

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A watercolour of a handheld laser firing into a lobed tumour mass, the pigment turning to red where the beam lands

660 nm

Photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy uses light-activated photosensitizers to produce reactive oxygen species and destroy target cells. We engineer synergistic regimens to translate initial responses into durable cures.

A watercolour of a lipoprotein particle, its packed lipid surface crossed by looping strands of protein and warming to red where the light falls

690 nm

Biomimetic nanotechnology

Leveraging cancer's appetite for lipids, we engineer synthetic lipoprotein nanoplatforms. These "Trojan horse" carriers cross barriers to deliver photosensitizers directly to tumor cells with high metabolic demand.

A watercolour ring of six lipotypes found in cancer — lipogenesis, scavenging, membrane unsaturation, structural lipids, fatty acid oxidation and storage — two wedges warming to red light

710 nm

Lipidome targeting

Lipids bridge cellular architecture and function. Rewired tumor lipidomes create distinct vulnerabilities. We engineer photodynamic theranostics that exploit these weaknesses with spatiotemporal precision.

A watercolour of the same animal painted an hour and twenty hours after dosing, the drug diffuse in the first and gathered into an amber bloom over the tumour in the second

780 nm

Theranostics

Photosensitizers are inherently theranostic: dual fluorescence and photodynamic traits enable real-time image guidance to map tumors, followed immediately by light-induced cell killing at surgical margins.

A new lab, big opportunity

Operating at the intersection of photochemistry, nanomedicine, and cancer biology, the Overchuk Lab engineers light-activatable, biomimetic theranostics to overcome treatment resistance.

We train scientists to seamlessly navigate the full preclinical pipeline—synthesizing novel compounds, formulating advanced nanoplatforms, and evaluating their efficacy in advanced tumor models.

Join the lab