Christopher Blum - 2026 Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Championship Presentation at CMU

Duration: 2:54 516 transcript words EN summary

Video summary

Christopher Blum opens his presentation by humorously noting that while killing cancer cells is technically easy—demonstrated by using bleach on a petri dish—the real challenge lies in doing so without harming healthy tissue. Current anti-cancer drugs, though powerful, suffer from imprecision that leads to agonizing side effects because they indiscriminately target both malignant and normal cells. Blum argues that the solution to this problem is not merely making existing drugs stronger, but rather achieving high precision in how therapeutic agents are delivered to specific targets within the body. To address this need for precision, Blum proposes harnessing nature's own delivery system: exosomes. These are small nanoparticles naturally produced by cells that act as messengers, carrying cargo and signals between them. He explains their mechanism using an analogy where surface proteins on exosomes function like Braille name tags, while corresponding proteins on cell surfaces act as fingers that read these tags to facilitate uptake. His project involves modifying this natural process by loading anti-cancer drugs into exosomes and then disguising them with specific DNA molecules. One end of this DNA disguise hides the original "name tags" so healthy cells ignore the exosome, while the other end attaches an "interrogator" strand that specifically binds to the receptors found on cancer cells, forcing only the malignant cells to take up the payload. Recognizing that different cancers possess unique surface markers, Blum emphasizes that his design is modular rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. This adaptability allows researchers to select the specific interrogator strand that best matches the target cancer type, effectively creating a customizable delivery vehicle for various therapeutic needs. Beyond its application in oncology, this flexible platform opens new possibilities for treating non-cancerous conditions, such as immune diseases, by targeting other cellular receptors with similar precision. Ultimately, Blum's work aims to combine the potency of existing treatments with the accuracy required to spare healthy tissue, representing a significant step forward in personalized medicine.

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Our next presenter is Christopher Blum of the Melon College of Science. Christopher's title is DNA disguised messengers for cancer treatment. Killing cancer is easy. In fact, I killed cancer just last week. After running an experiment on some cancer cells in a dish, I doused them in bleach, killing every last one of them. Now, obviously, drinking bleach is not a cure for cancer. Bleach is imprecise, killing healthy and cancer cells alike. While certainly better than bleach, our modern anti-cancer drugs are similar, with their imprecision visible in the agonizing side effects that patients suffer through during treatment. Our drugs are strong already. What we really need is precision. So, how do we deliver things to cells precisely? I believe that the best solution is the one that nature has already made for us. Many of our cells create exosomes, small nanoparticles that act as messengers, carrying cargo and signals between cells. These exosomes have small proteins on their surface that act sort of like Braille name tags, while other proteins on cells work as fingers that can read those name tags and pick them up. So, step one, we load some anti-cancer drug into these exosomes and send them on their way. This does work to kill cancer cells, but it doesn't solve the initial problem. These exosomes were never told to try and find cancer cells, and normal cells can still read the normal name tags and happily pick them up. That's where my project comes in. I am working to develop DNA molecules that change how exosomes and cells interact with each other. Many think of DNA just as the blueprints that our cells are built from, but they are also one of the most easily configurable nanoscopic building blocks. You can design them to self-assemble into specific shapes and perform precise jobs, as well as attach different pieces together. So, for the disguise, on one end of the disguise is a DNA that will stick to and hide the protein name tags on exosomes. Without these name tags, cells have a harder time recognizing and picking them up. On the other end of the disguise is an interrogator DNA. This DNA will stick to the protein fingers on cancer cells. Together, while normal cells will no longer recognize the exosome, the exosome will stick to the fingers of cancer cells, forcing them to pick it up. This is how we can deliver on the precision that we need while not sacrificing the strength we already have. Now, of course, there are many different types of cancer, so a single interrogator strand wouldn't work for everyone. Because of that, the design is modular, allowing you to choose which interrogator strand works best for the job at hand. Not only does this open the pathway to a variety of different cancer treatments, but it also opens the door towards non-cancerous targets, letting you do things like treat immune diseases and more. For my project, I am working to develop an adaptable delivery vehicle to bring therapeutics to any cellular target. Thank you.