{"id":56301,"date":"2026-06-12T18:55:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/?p=56301"},"modified":"2026-06-12T19:24:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T23:24:38","slug":"targeting-pancreatic-cancer-with-genetically-engineered-bacteria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/2026\/06\/12\/targeting-pancreatic-cancer-with-genetically-engineered-bacteria\/","title":{"rendered":"Targeting Pancreatic Cancer with Genetically Engineered Bacteria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Targeting Pancreatic Cancer with Genetically Engineered Bacteria<\/h1>

URI researcher Kaitlin Dailey is developing engineered bacteria to reach and treat hard-to-target and metastatic cancers<\/p><\/div><\/div>

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Apply site-wide<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n

Cancers are masters of disguise that can evade the immune system, growing undetected while wreaking havoc on the body. However, a new approach using oncolytic bacteria – bacteria that target and destroy cancer cells – may offer a way to expose and attack these tumors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When oncolytic bacteria are introduced into a tumor, the immune system recognizes and attacks the bacteria, triggering a broader response that also targets the cancer cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While previous research from Johns Hopkins University is successfully completing clinical trials, Kaitlin M. Dailey, Ph.D.<\/a>, assistant professor at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy, is working to expand this approach to treat cancers that are difficult or impossible to access, including pancreatic cancer, one of the most challenging cancers to treat and cure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dailey\u2019s lab is working with the microorganism Clostridium novyi-NonToxic, reengineering the already non-toxic bacteria through a first-of-its-kind synthetic and engineering biology platform for targeted gene editing. These edits allow the bacteria to be injected into the bloodstream without causing sepsis, giving them a chance to access hard-to-reach tumors, including those that have metastasized, regardless of where the tumor is in the body.<\/p>\n\n\n

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“Our lab’s mission is to develop therapies that reach patients and ultimately help cure cancer.”<\/blockquote>Kaitlin Dailey, Ph.D.<\/cite><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n

\u201cBy using a bacterium as our therapeutic, we can reprime the immune system so that not only are we able to directly target the tumor, we\u2019re also effectively vaccinating against reoccurrence,\u201d said Dailey, who is also an affiliate with the Legorreta Cancer Center at Brown University. \u201cIf we can target a tumor through intravenous inoculation, we have the opportunity to target both the primary tumor and any related metastatic tumors (tumors that spread from the primary site). Essentially, we will have retrained the immune system to recognize a tumor as foreign and promote its destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dailey has already seen promising results targeting pancreatic cancer in mice trials. The next step is improving how the bacteria circulate in the bloodstream without being eliminated by the immune system before reaching the tumor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She and her team of graduate and undergraduate students are developing genetic engineering strategies to help the bacteria temporarily evade immune detection until it reaches its target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a common pharmacy concept: How do we increase the amount of time that our therapeutic is in circulation?\u201d Dailey said. \u201cWe want to safely increase the circulation time and subsequently the amount of bacteria that reaches the tumor site. That\u2019s where we are focusing our efforts right now because it\u2019s the most direct way to increase therapeutic efficacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dailey\u2019s work on the development and clinical use of Clostridium novyi-NonToxic as an oncolytic (cancer-killing) bacterium represents a transformative approach to treating metastatic cancers, including pancreatic cancer and other solid tumors. Her research highlights the potential of translational synthetic biology to reshape cancer treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After demonstrating that the bacteria can be modified while maintaining its cancer-targeting ability, her long-term goal is to advance the approach to human clinical trials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt might sound ambitious, but I am trying to cure cancer,\u201d Dailey said. \u201cThere are many steps along the way, but they are all focused on patient impact,\u201d Dailey said, noting that in the past she assisted in autopsies on patients who died of cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know cancer is devastating, but seeing the extent of disease firsthand changes you,\u201d she said. \u201cYou see that patients have no diaphragm left because the tumor has taken over their entire abdomen, or they have no liver left and it\u2019s made them cirrhotic. Nothing prepares you for those experiences. That\u2019s my guiding light. I couldn\u2019t help those patients, but I may be able to help others. Our lab\u2019s mission is to develop therapies that reach patients and ultimately help cure cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RhodyRx – Research, Innovation & Impact<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

We have some exciting news… the newest issue of RhodyRx is here!<\/p>\n\n\nVIew the Full report<\/a>\n<\/article><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cancers are masters of disguise that can evade the immune system, growing undetected while wreaking havoc on the body. However, a new approach using oncolytic bacteria – bacteria that target and destroy cancer cells – may offer a way to expose and attack these tumors. When oncolytic bacteria are introduced into a tumor, the immune […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":639,"featured_media":56200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1299,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-report-2026","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/639"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56301"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56327,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56301\/revisions\/56327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}