Science AMA Series: Hi Reddit, I’m Marilyn Mackiewicz, a Research Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Portland State University. I use tiny pieces of gold to create technologies for the diagnoses and treatment diseases like macular degeneration and cancer. Ask me anything!

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Diseases like cancer and macular degeneration affect millions of people around the world. Many of the tools currently available for diagnosing these diseases are incapable of detecting their presence in the early stages after their onset when treatment would be optimal, and treatments, where they exist, are often costly, invasive, and can damage healthy cells. In recent decades, advances in chemistry, materials sciences, and nanotechnology have laid the groundwork for personalized medicine—the idea that we can develop products to diagnose and treat specific maladies in individual patients.

In my lab, my research group and I are currently developing nanostructured materials that preform a number of functions essential to the early diagnosis and treatment of disease, including targeted drug delivery and imaging agents (http://ift.tt/2qGLUYZ , and http://ift.tt/2qGLUYZ). I’m very much looking forward to talking with you all about chemistry at the nanoscale and the realm of what it’s possible to do with tiny pieces of gold.

I will be back at 2 pm ET (11 am PT) to answer your questions, Ask me anything!

">Science AMA Series: Hi Reddit, I’m Marilyn Mackiewicz, a Research Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Portland State University. I use tiny pieces of gold to create technologies for the diagnoses and treatment diseases like macular degeneration and cancer. Ask me anything!