Dr. Angela B. Grommet

Dr. Grommet received her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge in England. As an undergraduate at Kansas State University, she won the very competitive Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, awarded to only 300 STEM undergraduates nationwide. At Weizmann, in the Department of Organic Chemistry, her research will involve decorating nanoparticles (NPs) with coordination cages to develop a drug delivery vehicle for improved treatment of cancer. These “nanocage” particles are expected to 1) decrease the size of cancer tumors using heat generated from the NPs and 2) locally deliver a chemotherapy agent upon release of the drug from the thermoresponsive cage. This targeted delivery will increase the local concentration of the drug in the tumor, rendering the drug more potent and also decreasing side effects resulting from the drug acting upon healthy tissue. Dr. Grommet has collaborated internationally – with researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, Colorado, and at the University of Tokyo, Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology. She also served for two years as President of the Cambridge University Rambling Club, a hiking club composed of 100 active members, which organizes one or two hikes every weekend during the academic term.