Her system relies on a fully biodegradable polymer fibre with gold nanoparticles, with molecules of pancreatic cancer drug (doxorubicin) attached to them. "The disadvantage of the drug is its harmful effect on the patient’s heart" - Joanna Jurek explained.

Her task was to develop a method by which the drug would be delivered directly to the tumour cell, bypassing the bloodstream. The teenager proved that the objective can be achieved by surgical sewing nanofibers with the drug in places attacked by cancer.

Jurek’s innovative project won the first prize at the International Science Failr E(x)plory 2014 in Gdynia. Now, she competes in the U.S. in a prestigious competition for young scientists Intel ISEF (Intel International Science and Engeneering Fair). She admitted that her method was undergoing the patent procedures.

Joanna Jurek is a student of Boleslaw the Brave High School no.1 in Piotrków Trybunalski and a scholar of Marshal of the Łódź Voivodeship, who met with her before her departure to the United States.

She benefits from an individual curriculum. She admitted that starting a scientific career at such a young age was easier with the scholarship awarded by the National Fund for Children, which enabled her to take part in workshops in biology, chemistry and physics organized by the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Warsaw.

During the summer fellowship at the University of Warsaw she developed a scientific basis for her project, and then tested it for a month on tumour cells of the pancreas at Łódź University of Technology. She is already working on a new project.

"It is also associated with the use of nanotechnology for drug delivery, but concerns the problem of nosocomial infections with Staphylococcus aureus resistant to antibiotics" - she said.

After graduating, the 17-year-old from Piotrków would like to study abroad in a field related to medicine. "I am interested in nanotechnology, methods of drug delivery and therapy design" - she added. (PAP)

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