A breast cancer diagnosis in 2011 changed the life and career path of Jessica Winter. “It really was a defining moment in my career,” says Winter, PhD, an Ohio State professor of engineering, and a member of the OSUCCC – James Center for Cancer Engineering. “I could have kept doing research and publishing papers, but now I really wanted to do translational work and take something from the lab to patients.” Winter is a leader in the growing field of cancer science and treatment nanotechnology — the use of tiny materials to treat patients’ cancers. “There are three areas where it can be applied — imaging, biosensing and drug delivery,” says Winter, who collaborates with members of her lab and other colleagues at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. Click here to learn more about the OSUCCC – James Center for Cancer Engineering. Nanotechnology operates on a scale so small that it’s often surprising to patients and others among the general public. “Nanotechnology is defined as something between the size of one and 100 nanometers,” Winter says. “You can fit 5 million nanoparticles that are five nanometers in diameter inside a single cell.” In her lab, Winter has developed what she calls “quantum dots” to improve the delivery of drugs to cancer patients. Click here to learn more about cancer research at the OSUCCC – James. Another area of her research involves biosensing, a process utilized in non-cancer testing and treatments familiar to Americans. “The COVID test is a biosensor, and some of the earliest biosensors were home-pregnancy tests,” Winter explains. Winter and collaborators at the OSUCCC – James are working on a nanotechnology biosensing method to analyze solid tumors. “We came up with a method of erasable labeling,” she says of the method in which several different colors, or layers, can be used to create a series of images. “We need better diagnostic tests to match the patients with the best therapies — this is personalized medicine.” Her cancer diagnosis — she is in remission and doing well — continues to motivate Winter. “I love my job and what I do,” she says. “The idea that I can help and make real things for real people is very exciting.” Click here to learn more about breast cancer, including risks, symptoms and treatment options at The Ohio State University.