Nano switch in the brain

3 questions for Danijela Gregurec

Danijela Gregurec designs nanomaterials that can be used to control neurons in the brain. She has been awarded a Pathfinder Open Grant from the EU worth one million euros in recognition of her creative research.

Prof. Gregurec, what are you currently researching?

I am developing functional nanomaterials that are capable of developing heat or mechanical forces, depending on how they are stimulated by a magnetic field. We aim to place these particles directly into the brain where they can be targeted to inhibit or stimulate the sensory activity of nerve cells in the brains of people suffering from brain diseases or mental illnesses such as dementia, Alzheimer’s or panic attacks.

Why are you interested in this topic?

I have been fascinated for a long time by the opportunity to combine apparently unconnected worlds such as material sciences, the senses and the brain. My vision is not only to achieve the wireless control of neural networks but also to communicate with individual sensory proteins in order to gain information from the complex and mysterious depths of the brain and gain new groundbreaking findings.

Which opportunities does your Pathfinder Open Grant offer?

During the funded project, we can concentrate fully on developing ferromagnetic nanoparticles that we coat with an innovative functional polymer coating. My hope is that standard therapies involving the implantation of electrodes will soon be replaced by our nano-invasive procedure.

Prof. Dr. Danijela Gregurec studied applied chemistry at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. At the Centro de Investigación Cooperativa en Biomateriales (CIC biomaGUNE) in San Sebastian, Spain, she conducted research into molecular biology and biomedicine and completed a doctoral degree there in 2016. She then transferred to the Research Laboratory of Electronics and the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA. Danijela Gregurec has been a professor of Sensory Sciences at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy at FAU since 2020.

 

This article is part of the FAU Magazin

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