Devika Chithrani

Overview of research

Recent Times Colonist newspaper article:
It has been a privilege to be able to collaborate with many outstanding researchers. As I said in the article, it is not about competition among us but how we can achieve big targets together. I try to combine teaching and research together to motivate our next generation. It has been very successful so far. I never underestimate potential of students. They just need good guidance to build that passion within them selves to navigate roadblocks. I use my story as a tool.
I hope you will enjoy this article.

UVIC's Research Focuses on Low Harm Cancer Treatment

My recent interview with the faculty: 
It aims at communicating research to a broader community around the world. I talked about use of smart nanomedicine in the treatment of cancer. This is just over 10 minute video. I am very grateful for all the researchers in the field who had contributed immensely and also the ones who are working really hard to make this nanomedicine accessible to more cancer patients in the near future. I did my PhD in Quantum physics and the opportunity to be able to contribute to cancer research is very rewarding. 

Smart Nanomaterials for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

The talk I gave as part of the Dean's lecture series at the University of Victoria:
I talked about the endless opportunities of nanotechnology in cancer research. I hope you will enjoy. Our dean, prof. Peter Loock, gave a very kind introduction before my talk. I incorporate my research into teaching as well. To be able to mentor our young generation via both teaching and research is a blessing. I enjoy every minute of it.

Gold Nanoparticles

Research Projects

My lab investigates the creation and application of nanomaterials on the nanometer scale, aiming to generate innovative solutions in cancer nanomedicine. Her projects include the development of gold nanostructures as platforms for combination therapies, enhancing the efficacy of existing cancer treatments. Fundamental studies on nanoparticle behavior in biological environments, both in vitro and in vivo, aim to inform the design of next-generation diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

Philosophy & Teaching

Believing in the potential of students, I combine my research with teaching to motivate and mentor the next generation of scientists. I value collaboration and strives to contribute to the global effort in making nanomedicine more effective and accessible.

2025-2026 Academic year:

PHYS120: This is an introductory physics course.

PHYS232: This course delivers materials related to special topics in biomedical sciences. In other words, we will learn to use the physics we learned in the first year to understand their applications in biomedical sciences. This includes biomedical imaging, therapy, and diagnostics. We will also tour the British Columbia Cancer Agency to witness how some of the things you lean in the course is used in day today.

Phys429: Introduction to research, with several research-oriented experiments and with instruction on experimental techniques and theory of measurement.

Graduate Students

Current:

• Nolan Jackson (PhD); NSERC PGS D/ Mitacs Accelerate fellowship
• Daniel Cecchi (PhD): NSERC PGS D
• Kieren O-Neil (MSc)
• Sacha Freeman (MSc)
• Max Garson (MSc)

Previous:

• Abdulaziz Alhussan (PhD); NMIN graduate scholarship award
• Sara Eaton (MSc); NSERC CGSM
• Kyle Bromma (PhD); Received NSERC CGS D
• Kristy Rieck (MSc); Received NSERC and UVic fellowship
• Aaron Bannister (MSc); Received UVic fellowship
• Celina Yang (PhD); Funded by NSERC and OGST
• Celina Yang (MSc); Received NSERC
• Darren Yohan (MSc); Funded by NSERC
• Charmainne Cruje (MSc); Funded by NSERC
• Mehrnoosh Neshatian (MSc); Funded by NS

 Undergraduate Students

• Max Garson (Summer student)
• Sacha Freeman (Summer student)
• Miranda Niddrie (Summer student)
• Amith walath (Summer student)
• Kyle Brown (Summer student)
• Kieren O’Neil (Summer student)
• Reinali Calisin (summer student)
• Nolan Jackson (NSERC USRA summer student)
• Nicholas Pamerley (4^th year thesis student)
• Leah Cicon (NSERC USRA summer student; 4^th year thesis student, JCURA recipient)
• Antonia Kowalewski (Summer student)
• Dushanthi Dissanayake (Summer Student)
• Sarah Eaton (NSERC USRA summer student; 4^th year thesis student, JCURA recipient)
• Kyle Bromma (NSERC USRA summer student; 4^th year thesis student, JCURA recipient)
• Ashley Singh (Honors thesis)
• Rawan Ibrahem (Honors thesis)
• Qingmiao Ran (Honors thesis)
• Natasha Hegarty (Honors thesis)

Selected Publications:

1. Chithrani DB, G Ghazani and WCW. Chan, 2006. Determining the Size and Shape Dependence of Nanoparticle – Uptake into Mammalian Cells. Nano Letters, 6 (4), 662. (Impact factor: 11.2; Citations: 5070). Over 6,165 citations.
2. Chithrani DB and WCW Warren, 2007. Elucidating the Mechanism of Cellular Uptake and Removal of Protein–coated Gold Nanoparticles of Different Sizes and Shapes. Nano Letters, 7 (6), 1542. (Impact factor: 9.1); Over 2850 citations.
3. Chithrani DB, S Jelveh, F Jalali, M van Prooijen, C Allen, R Bristow, R Hill and DA Jaffray, 2010. Gold Nanoparticles as a Radiation Sensitizer in Cancer Therapy. Radiation Research, 173 (6), 719 - 728. Featured on the cover of the premier  journal of radiation research. Over 860 citations.
4. Yohan D, C Cruje, X Lu and DB Chithrani, 2015. Elucidating the Uptake and Distribution of Nanoparticles in Solid Tumors via a Multilayered Cell Culture Model. Nano-Micro letters, 7 (2), 127. Featured on the cover. (Impact factor: 36.3).
5. Yang C, J Uertz, D Yohanand DB Chithrani, 2014. Peptide Modified Gold Nanoparticles for Improved Cellular Uptake, Nuclear Transport, and Intracellular Retention. Nanoscale, 6 (20), 12026. (Impact factor: 5.1); Over 170 citations.
6. Schuemann J, R Berbeco, DB Chithrani, S Cho, R Kumar, S McMahon, S Sridhar and S Krishnan, 2015. Roadmap to clinical use of gold nanoparticles for radiosensitization. J. Radiation Oncology, Biology & Physics, 94 (1), 189. (Citations: 282).
7. N Jackson, N Bouzeineddine, D Cecchi, S Holder, K Gee, W Beckham, Basta S, Krishnan S, and DB Chithrani, 2025. Comprehensive analysis of the tumor targeting efficiency of functionalized nanoparticles in an immunocompetent environment, Scientific Reports, 15, 35225.
8. Cecchi D, Jackson N, Goharian M, Beckham W, and BD Chithrani, 2025. Radiotherapeutic efficacy of gold nanoparticles for high dose-rate brachytherapy compared to conventional radiotherapy: An in vitro study, Medical Physics, 52, e18006.
9. Alhussan A, Jackson N, Chow N, Gete E, Santos NS, Beckham W, Duzenli C, and DB Chithrani, In Vitro and In Vivo Synergetic Radiotherapy with Gold Nanoparticles and Docetaxel for Pancreatic Cancer, Pharmaceutics, 16, 713.
10. Bromma K, Santos ND, Barta I, Alexander A, Beckham W, Krishnan S and DB Chithrani, 2022. Assessing gold nanoparticle uptake in two-dimensional, three-dimensional, and mouse pre-clinical prostate cancer cell models. Scientific Reports, 12 (1), 13508.

1. Alhussan A, Eaton S, Palmerley Nand DB Microtubule Targeting in Cancer Treatment. Organelle and Molecular Targeting (L.S. Milane and M. M. Amiji), 2021, pp. 403-420, CRC Press, Florida (Chapter (#14) in a research text).
2. Chithrani DB, 2018. Intracellular targeting using surface-modified gold nanoparticles, in: Biomedical Applications of Functionalized Nanomaterials(B. Sarmento and J. das Neves, ed.). pp. 315-333, Elsevier Press, Atlanta (Chapter (#11) in a research text).
3. Cruje C, D Yohan, C Yang, M Neshatianand DB Chithrani, 2014. Intracellular behavior of nanoparticles based on their physico-chemical properties, in: Handbook of Research on Diverse Applications of Nanotechnology in Biomedicine, Chemistry, and Engineering (S. Soni, A. Salhotra, and M. Suar ed.), pp. 10-35, IGI publishing, Pennsylvania. (Chapter (#2) in a research text).
4. Chithrani DB, 2013. Gold Nanoparticle-mediated Radiosensitization, in: Cancer Nanotechnology: Principles and Applications in Radiation Oncology(S. Krishnan and S.H. Cho, ed.), pp. 111-121, CRC press, Florida (Chapter (#9) in a research text).
5. Neshatian M, C Yang, N Hegarty and DB Chithrani, 2014. Optimizing the Bio-Nano Interface for Gold Nanoparticle, in: Precious metals for Biomedical Applications(N. Baltzer and T. Copponnex, ed.), pp. 87-106, Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge (Chapter (#4) in a research text).
6. Chithrani DB and WCW Chan, 2006. Nanoparticles in Biomedical Photonics, in: Encyclopaedia of Biomedical Engineering(M. Akay, ed.), John Wiley & sons, New Jersey. (Chapter in a research text).

Funding:

• Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR)
• Mitacs Accelerator Award
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Council (NSERC)
• The Government of Canada through the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Program
• Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI)
• British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF)
• University of Victoria (UVic)