³ÉÈË´óƬ

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive brain cancer, with most patients surviving little more than a year after diagnosis. Queen’s University researcher Xian Wang (Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Ingenuity Labs Research Institute, Sinclair Cancer Research Institute) is tackling this challenge with a new idea: using microscopic bubble robots to physically dismantle brain tumours.

Dr. Wang is one of 22 scientists across Canada awarded $100,000 through Brain Canada’s Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program, a $2.2 million national investment supported by Health Canada to advance bold approaches in brain health.

His project uses acoustic microbubble microrobots, tiny spheres about the size of a red blood cell. Guided by magnets, they can travel through brain tissue to reach a tumour. Once there, ultrasound vibrations make the bubbles pulse, producing precise mechanical forces that tear apart cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue.

This work, which is now working toward clinical testing, is significant because glioblastoma resists many drug-based treatments. By introducing a physical, targeted therapy, Dr. Wang’s approach could avoid the toxic side effects of chemotherapy and radiation while offering patients new hope for longer survival and better quality of life.

Read this Queen’s Gazette article for more details. 

To interview Dr. Wang, contact:

Andrew Carroll, Media Relations Officer 
andrew.carroll@queensu.ca 
613-876-8059

Julie Brown, Manager, Media Relations 
brown.julie@queensu.ca 
343-363-2763