Searching for a precise treatment for cancer
By Susan Polowczuk
Thompson Mefford researches nanoparticles that could potentially deliver precise treatment for cancer to targeted areas of the body. Making a difference is what makes this assistant professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering tick.
“My work has high real-world impact,” Mefford said. “Students and researchers are highly motivated if they know they have the ability to make a difference. My goal is to give my students problem solving skills that can be used not only for today, but last a lifetime.”
Mefford was looking for a high profile research institute that would offer a small college town environment when he recently returned to Clemson to teach.
“I do things in my research that are not normally possible without the ability to collaborate. Collaboration is key to my work,” he said. “I looked at a number of other places to work and based on the experience I have had at other institutions, Clemson was so welcoming in regard to collaboration and in many other ways. It was the right fit for me.”
Mefford graduated from Clemson in 2003 with an undergraduate degree in polymer and fiber chemistry and a minor in philosophy. He completed graduate and post-graduate work at Virginia Tech and Ohio State before choosing to return.
“I’ve gone from empty rooms to a lab filled with students who are creating nanoparticles in a very short amount of time thanks to Clemson’s commitment,” he said. “Having the funding, having the support of Centers of Excellence and getting a critical mass of young faculty to take research and education to the next level enticed me to settle on Clemson. Things are happening here.”
Mefford’s research primarily focuses on magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications using bioimaging such as MRI contrast agents, targeted drug delivery and magnetic hypothermia which may some day remove cancer tissues with a heating method delivered directly to the cancer cells.
“I hope someday we can prevent cancer,” Mefford said. “In the meantime, treating targeted cancer cells without damaging the rest of the body is here now. It’s a big step and will make a huge difference for cancer patients.”
Mefford’s research extends to other areas as well. In Charleston, through Clemson’s Restoration Institute (CURI), he has a graduate student who is using sub-critical fluid treatments — specifically, high temperature, high-pressure water — to remove chlorine from the metal of the Hunley Submarine. This treatment has the potential to slow or stop current corrosion processes and also prevent future corrosion. The same surface chemistry and similar polymer coatings used in Mefford’s nanoparticle work could also be applied to the hull of the Hunley for its long-term storage.
Another project, led by an undergraduate student, studies the development of non-toxic surface coatings that could possibly eliminate the problem of barnacles on ships without harming marine life. This is part of a collaborative effort with the department of biological sciences.
He also has a keen interest in course development for students and would like eventually to see a minor in nanotechnology offered. Presently, he has young undergraduates who are solving real world biological problems every week in the lab. They are writing abstracts for conferences, making oral presentations and poster sessions so those critical thinking skills Mefford believes are so important are honed early on.