- Minimally invasive process uses high temperatures to kill cancer cells with little to no harm to the patient’s normal tissue.
- Patient-specific dosing best targets tumor volumes on a case-by-case basis.
- Anatomically correct 3D-printed mouse phantoms reduce the need for animal experimentation.
Aniela Nozka, a third-year chemical engineering doctoral student, recently won the UF Health Cancer Institute 2026 Research Showcase Poster Session award for her innovative approach to heat-based cancer treatments.
Under the watchful eyes of Ph.D. adviser Carlos Rinaldi-Ramos, Ph.D., Nozka’s research focuses on using magnetic particle imaging (MPI) to provide insights into hyperthermia cancer treatment, a minimally invasive process that uses high temperatures to kill cancer cells.
“Cancer hyperthermia treatment utilizes heat, in this case, heat generated by magnetic nanoparticles, to kill cancer cells and induce an immune response. We want to enable patient-specific dosing of hyperthermia to best target the tumor volume on a case-by-case basis,” she explained.
Hyperthermia treatments can use radio waves, lasers, ultrasounds and heated fluids placed into the body. They can even involve placing the patient’s entire body in a heated chamber or bath, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The treatment heats the body tissue to as high as 113° F, which helps kill the cancer cells with little to no harm to the patient’s normal tissue. However, there are dosing challenges using hyperthermia treatment, which led to Nozka’s exploration.
The dosing of hyperthermia treatment must be carefully measured when given to patients to minimize damage to other tissues or organs and ensure their safety.
“Currently, there is limited knowledge about the location of particles after injection, how heterogeneous the heat generation may be and how this affects treatment outcomes. Utilizing MPI, I aim to get insights on particle location and model how the heat is generated,” she said.
Nozka’s experiment utilized plastic, 3D-printed mouse phantoms loaded with iron oxide nanoparticles. By applying magnetic fields to the nanoparticles, heat was generated.
These phantom mice have anatomically correct skeletons, body surfaces and lung geometry, and their internal cavities are empty.
“I used a thermographic camera to measure the temperature of the tumor cavity of the phantom mouse. I then simulated this experiment on COMSOL Multiphysics [a software for simulating Multiphysics] using the heat-transfer module and compared the results to the experimental temperatures,” she explained.
Multiphysics is the simulation of multiple, simultaneous physical phenomena such as fluid flow, heat transfer and electromagnetics. The multiple simulations of the body’s behaviors are more realistic than separate simulations.
“I am grateful to the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program for supporting Aniela and granting her the freedom to pursue this exciting interdisciplinary research project in her Ph.D.,” Rinaldi-Ramos said.
Nozka already has plans for additional research.
“In this preliminary study, I focused on tuning the model and understanding how basic heat transfer variables affect the simulated outcomes. In the future, I aim to use this to model in vivo experiments,” she said.
Held in January, the UF Health Cancer Institute Annual Research Showcase provides an opportunity to celebrate students’ work, recognize their mentors and, with luck, spark collaborations to advance cancer research. The 2026 showcase drew nearly 150 cancer research trainees from across UF.