Maggie Wang, a graduate student in the Gao Lab, has been honored with the 2024 Ida M. Green Award for research that could advance nanoparticle-based cancer immunotherapies involving a protein known as STING.

Ms. Wang conducts a multiplex assay to detect a wide range of biological changes resulting from various immunotherapies, aiming to identify predictive biomarkers associated with cancer patient survival.

“Maggie has an insatiable curiosity to find out how STING nanoparticles work to eliminate tumors, and she displayed great courage to come from a materials science background to solve the complex tumor immunology puzzle,” said her mentor, Jinming Gao, Ph.D., a Professor in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and of Biomedical Engineering, Cell Biology, Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, and Pharmacology.

Ms. Wang’s research focuses on therapies that target immune mechanisms mediated by the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) protein. STING plays an important role in innate immunity by sensing microbial or self-DNA as a danger signal, thereby triggering the mobilization of white blood cells and other body defense systems. She studies how STING works in dendritic cells – part of the immune surveillance system that identifies microorganisms or cancer cells so that the adaptive immune system can secrete kill signals to eliminate threats.

Ms. Wang chose to pursue biomedical research as an evolution of her undergraduate and master’s degree work when she studied the properties of gold nanoparticles, including how to use them to detect small molecules. “That inspired me to learn and explore other potential applications, with a primary focus on improving human health,” she said.

She was attracted to the Translational Nanomedicine and Drug Delivery track in UTSW’s Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. Program, which she entered in 2020.

Professor Jinming Gao, Ph.D., left, provides guidance to Ms. Wang in the lab. His mentorship and training played a role in her winning the award.

In research recognized by the Green Award, Ms. Wang utilized polymeric STING-activating nanoparticles (dubbed PolySTING) in dendritic cells and found that STING signaling in a rare subset of innate immune cells – called conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s) – was essential to fight several types of cancer. She also discovered that the presence of STING-activated cDC1s correlated with better survival of cancer patients.

PolySTING is designed to embed a natural STING activator, cGAMP, into polymeric nanoparticles, where the combination first stimulates STING activation with cGAMP and then maintains this robust activation.

“These findings suggest that targeting STING in dendritic cells may be an effective strategy to promote antitumor immunity,” commented an editor on this research, which was published in Science Immunology.

“Maggie made an important contribution to the work,” Dr. Gao said. “In the middle of COVID-19, she created a mouse model where we selectively knock out STING in type 1 dendritic cells to specifically investigate the importance of this cell type in STING-mediated tumor rejection.”

Part of Ms. Wang’s work involves operating a powerful immunology instrument, flow cytometry, which is used to detect phenotypic differences between pathological and healthy conditions. This technique was pivotal in identifying a rare subset of immune cells crucial for STING-mediated cancer immunotherapy, as illustrated in the published work.

Ms. Wang was born in New York, raised in Taiwan, and moved to Seattle in her midteens. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and master’s degree in material science at Western Washington University.

“Despite all the cultural and language differences, science remained constant and universal no matter where I was,” she said. “Science also consistently found its way to further my ambition. I had so much support growing up, but none of my family was in science, so I had to pave my own way, relying heavily on the help and mentorship I received throughout my academic career,” Ms. Wang said. “I want to pay that forward.”

One aspect of the Green Award honors community leadership. Since Ms. Wang began graduate school during the pandemic, she looked for unique ways that students could connect. As President of the Biotechnology Club, she led her colleagues in developing programs, including an educational seminar series and industry mentorship opportunities. She also requested and received funding from Lyda Hill Philanthropies for students to learn about startup biotechnology businesses through resources at Biolabs Pegasus Park.

The Ida M. Green Award honors the late Mrs. Green. She and her husband, the late Cecil H. Green, were generous supporters of UT Southwestern. The award is given annually to a female student in UT Southwestern’s Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences who has demonstrated scholastic excellence, outstanding support of fellow students, and commitment to the UTSW community.

The Green Award is presented by Southwestern Medical Foundation and includes a $2,000 prize.

“Maggie Wang embodies the spirit of the Ida M. Green Award through her dedication to community and innovative approach to research,” said Michael McMahan, President and CEO of Southwestern Medical Foundation. “Her work with STING-activating nanoparticles has the potential to significantly advance cancer treatment, and we look forward to watching this natural leader continue to grow her career and impact in medicine.”