Biography
Dr. Serda received a M.S. degree in Chemistry (1991) and a PhD degree in Biomedical Sciences (2006) from New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico. Following her doctorate research, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Texas at Houston (UT Houston). She became an Assistant Professor in at UT Houston in 2010 in the Department of Nanomedicine. When the department moved to Houston Methodist, she became co-Chair of the Department of Nanomedicine, the Inaugural Director of the Methodist Academy, and Director of the Scanning Electron Microscopy Core. In 2013, she became a tenure-track Associate Professor in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX at Baylor College of Medicine, and in 2016 she returned to New Mexico and became a Research Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico.
Personal Statement
I have a strong commitment to creating novel therapeutic approaches for cancer immunotherapy in hopes of someday contributing to a cure for all cancers. During my graduate studies, my mentor, a.k.a. the gentle giant, was diagnosed with stage-four malignant melanoma. Beyond suffering from the devastating effects of his cancer, chemotherapy caused painful side effects, including vestibular toxicity. This influenced my post-graduate studies, which were dedicated to exploring novel, less toxic forms of cancer therapy, with an emphasis on therapeutic platforms that stimulate and sustain anti-cancer immune responses with the hope of eliminating all cancer in the body. Currently my major focus is on applying material science concepts to the development of personalized whole tumor cell vaccines. My team has developed a cryo-silicification process that preserves cancer cells and renders them stable to dehydration and storage at room temperature; and enhances surface adsorption of molecules, such as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) creating immune stimulatory microbial mimetic personalized vaccines.
Areas of Specialty
1. Cancer Immunotherapy2. Intra- and Intercellular communication3. Nanotechnology platforms for cancer immunotherapy
Gender
Female
Languages
- English
Courses Taught
NSMS 581 - Colloidal Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications. Co-Instructor Spring 2022.
Research and Scholarship
1. Cancer Immunotherapy. Dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages/monocytes are the body?s gatekeepers, responding to pathogens and foreign materials. Microbial products, known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), stimulate DC maturation through Toll-like receptors (TLR) or other pattern recognition receptors. In addition to developing porous silica and silicon particles for immunotherapy, my research team has created a biologically compatible process to biomineralize cancer cells, stabilizing cells and their contents and facilitating surface masking with PAMPs, thereby transforming cancer cells into microbe mimetics. PAMP-modified particles and cells enhance uptake by DC, stimulate signaling pathways, enhance antigen presentation, and increase DC migration to lymph nodes. The clinical benefit is the creation of immunogenic particles and cells that stimulate anti-cancer immunity.2. Dynamic Trafficking of Particles. Nanoparticle trafficking throughout and between cancer cells during the various phases of the cell cycle occurs along microtubular highways, with mitotic partitioning leading to payload dilution. Trafficking of particles between cells includes direct cell-to-cell transfer or the release of biovesicles loaded with particles, the latter being candidates for re-uptake by secondary cells. 3. Multistage Vectors. The use of cancer therapies such as chemotherapy is limited by systemic toxicity, tumor penetrance and the development of resistance. Nanotechnology offers tools to package drugs and enable sustained release. The multi-stage vector (MSV) approach resembles a Trojan horse, with first stage microparticles targeting tumor-associated vasculature and second stage nanoparticles targeting cancer cells for the delivery of therapeutics.