Cancer and the Flint, Michigan, water crisis: two well-known health crises that seem otherwise disconnected. The former can evade treatment due to the persistent nature of cancer cells, while the latter involves heavy metal poisoning that disrupts the proper function of organs. Despite the dramatic differences between these issues, Dr. Rebecca Abergel, startup founder and professor of nuclear engineering at UC Berkeley, is developing approaches that have the potential to address both of them and a breadth of other human and environmental health challenges.

Dr. Abergel was raised in France and moved to Berkeley to complete her graduate studies in chemistry. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, she returned to UC Berkeley as a faculty member, where she now leads a multidisciplinary research team. Her team features a variety of expertise, working at the interface of several disciplines—including nuclear and radiochemistry, chemical biology, pharmacology, and molecular and cellular biology—to study the biological chemistry and toxicity mechanisms of the f-elements (the heavy elements in the f-block of the periodic table). The team’s overarching research goals are to engineer specific strategies for waste separation and remediation and to develop radiopharmaceuticals. Elaborating on the diversity of ongoing projects in her lab, Dr. Abergel states that they range from “separating and recovering heavy metals and isotopes from nuclear fuel and decontaminating the environment and people that may be contaminated by heavy metals and radionuclides” to “developing new ways to deliver radionuclides for nuclear medicine (i.e., to target cancer) or for therapy and imaging.”

Of these exciting areas, Dr. Abergel believes that radionuclide therapy has the greatest potential to make an impact. Radionuclide therapy involves using a molecular system incorporating a radionuclide (a high-energy, radioactive isotope) to target and destroy cancer cell DNA, killing the cancer cells and helping the patient. However, a lot more goes into radionuclide therapy than just picking the correct radioisotope: one of the hardest challenges is ensuring that the radiotherapy goes to the correct part of the body and only enacts its DNA-damaging capabilities on cancer cells. This type of targeted delivery is accomplished through a targeting vector. A targeting vector is like a courier for the radionuclide: it ensures that the radionuclide is 1) protected in transit and 2) arrives at its correct destination. These two functions are important because they ensure that the protected isotope remains undamaged and can function properly and prevent the radionuclide from harming healthy cells. Vectors can range from viruses to antibodies and peptides, but they are chosen, in part, based on their high affinity for certain cell types (often due to their specificity for proteins on certain cell membranes). According to Dr. Abergel, “For the right radionuclide (your nuclear bullet) to deliver enough energy to destroy cancer cells, you need to attach a targeting vector, which is very difficult. Coming up with the best combination [of vector and radionuclide] is the challenge, especially for looking at different types of cancers.” Regardless of these challenges, Dr. Abergel believes that the number of academic labs and start-up companies working in this space will likely drive a lot of impact down the line.

Dr. Abergel herself is also entrenched in the start-up space, though her focus is on meeting critical needs related to heavy metal poisoning. Together with Dr. Julian Rees, a former postdoctoral researcher in her lab, she co-founded HOPO Therapeutics, which is currently housed in the Bakar BioEnginuity Hub, the UC Berkeley-affiliated incubator aimed at supporting human health-focused startups. HOPO’s lead drug candidate, HOPO 14-1, has been designed to help eliminate heavy metals such as lead and tin from the body, and HOPO is currently gathering safety data from patients in a clinical trial. While the academic and start-up spaces are very different, Dr. Abergel draws on the parallels between the two. “It’s the same type of job: you still come up with ideas, the research, and the products; you still raise funds; and you still do the work.” She encourages those interested in entrepreneurship to seek out resources and mentorship. In both the research lab and the start-up space, it takes teamwork and perseverance to make an impact.