Decades of research brought us here: a breakthrough treatment for patients with glioblastoma

The Need

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For decades, glioblastoma care has had to focus on hope. Patients and patients’ loved ones need neurosurgeons, neurologists, scientists, and entrepreneurs to provide a treatment option that will stop tumor regrowth once and for all.

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It is nearly guaranteed that glioblastoma will recur. This is because residual brain cancer stem cells, the source of tumor regrowth, survive any existing treatment. So, the key to stopping tumor regrowth is destroying the brain cancer stem cells.

No treatment exists that can do this, until now.
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The Science

By discovering a way to target brain cancer stem cells, we've created an innovative nanomedicine specifically designed to prevent tumor growth: a fundamentally different approach that will positively transform patient outcomes.

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Our nanomedicine is a transformational breakthrough and the beginning of the next generation of stem cell and gene therapy to treat brain diseases.

Our Platform

For years, each of us dedicated our careers to brain cancer in our own way. Shared values of scientific excellence, patient-centered innovation, and empathy brought us together at Johns Hopkins, and has created what is now Dome.

Our mission is to increase the life expectancy of patients with any brain disease, starting with a cure for glioblastoma.

Beyond therapeutic innovation, we are proud to support the Mission:Brain Foundation, a global non-profit dedicated to providing neurosurgery care to underserved regions.

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Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa
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Dr. Jordan J. Green
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Dr. Jim Kyung-Soo Liew







The Team

Identify What to Target to Prevent Tumor Regrowth

Now that we know what we need to target, we needed to discover how to target it. The answer was a specific set of microRNAs.

Discover What Would Stop the Brain Cancer Stem Cells

Inside every cell in the human body is a set of instructions, called DNA, that informs the cell how to function and grow. Cells follow these instructions through microRNA, which inform which portion of the instructions are needed to function and grow as desired. If a portion is not needed, the microRNA can block the expression of those instructions.

We are using this naturally occurring process, called gene expression: by delivering a new set of targeted microRNAs through an injected medication, the regrowth of the brain cancer stem cells can be blocked, preventing tumor regrowth. This is the frontier of in vivo cellular engineering

Invent the Treatment to Stop the Brain Cancer Stem Cells

The key innovation is how to package the microRNA into a treatment. We have invented a novel biodegradable polymer that wraps around the microRNA, forming a package to reach the brain cancer stem cells. This is a new biotechnology: the first non-viral, biodegradable nanoparticle, called PBAE.

Our PBAEs address the need for an improved method of safe, effective, and easy delivery of genetic material. The PBAEs are small, stable, and protect 100% of the encapsulated genetic material, without any downstream processing and 10x improved delivery efficacy compared to other nanoparticles. The advantages are clear:

Design a Method for Delivering the Treatment

Even though the molecular chemistry is unlike any other brain cancer therapy, administering our nanomedicine uses existing, standard practices. The nanoparticles are dissolved into a liquid, and this liquid can be safely, directly injected into the patient, and reach the brain cancer stem cell targets.

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Dr. Jordan J. Green is the Herschel L. Seder Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Oncology, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Materials Science & Engineering, and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University. He is also an inaugural JHU Provost Fellow for Public Engagement. Dr. Green serves as the Vice Chair for Research and Translation in Biomedical Engineering and is the former Director of the Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Program at JHU. Dr. Green is also the Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Translational ImmunoEngineering Center (NCBIB). He received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 2003. He completed his Ph.D. in Biological Engineering from MIT in 2007 and postdoc in 2008, both with Bob Langer. He is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Biomedical Engineering Society, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the Controlled Release Society. His work has resulted in the publication of over 195 scientific papers, 90 issued or pending patents, and 145 invited talks. Dr. Green’s research focuses on the design of biotechnologies for cellular engineering. He has cofounded 5 companies that have collectively raised ~$70M. As CTO and Executive Chairman of Dome Therapeutics, he is developing biotechnology for the treatment of brain cancer and other neurological diseases.

Dr. Jim Kyung-Soo Liew is an Associate Professor of Finance at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and the co-founder and President of SoKat Consulting, creating full-stack software solutions for the federal government and private companies. He has published pioneering research in the intersection of social media big data, blockchain, and financial markets. Additionally, he serves as the Chairman of the Johns Hopkins Innovation Factory, and serves on the Editorial Board of Journal of Portfolio Management.

Previously, Dr. Liew has been with the Carlyle Asset Management Group, Campbell and Company, and Morgan Stanley. He holds a BA in Mathematics from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Finance from Columbia University.

Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, also known as “Dr. Q”, serves as Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery and is the Dean of Research. He leads the Brain Tumor Stem Cell Laboratory at Mayo Clinic Florida, where he has been recognized with the distinction of the William J. and Charles H. Mayo Endowed Professorship.

Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa earned his B.A. in psychology from the University of California– Berkeley and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, where he graduated cum laude. He completed his neurosurgery residency and a postdoctoral fellowship in developmental and stem cell biology at the University of California, San Francisco. His career as a neurosurgeon started at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he was promptly named as Professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology and served as the director of the Brain Tumor Program.

Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa’s practice focuses on the treatment of primary and metastatic brain tumors. He is a world-renowned leader in brain mapping techniques utilized to safely remove tumors close to eloquent brain regions and in minimally invasive endoscopic approaches required to operate on difficult-toreach skull base tumors. Dr. Q uses his laboratory as an extension of the operating room, and together with his team of scientists, they look to better understand and elucidate multiple molecular drivers of brain cancer migration, invasion, metabolism, and determinants of the tumor microenvironment. He also performs translational and clinical research. For instance, Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa team has one active clinical human protocol to maximize the extent of resection in the operating room and several approved protocols to conduct our work in rodents, primates, and humans. One of the other current clinical projects involves using mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of glioblastoma.

Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa has written seven books about brain cancer and neurosurgery that have been translated to multiple languages. He has published over 500 peer-reviewed publications and currently holds an H-index of 80. His research is supported by the National Institute of Health (NIH), where he also serves as reviewer in many NIH study sections such as the Clinical Neuroimmunology and Brain Tumors (CNBT).

Over the last 15 years, Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa has mentored more than 300 post-graduate students and neurosurgery residents, who are currently working in prestigious institutions of the United States such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MD Anderson, UCSF, as well as other institutions around the world in Mexico, Spain, Panama, England, and many others.

Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa has received many honors and awards in recognition of his work. He has been named one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in 2008, as the recipient of the Gary Lichtenstein Humanitarian Award and Neurosurgeon of the Year in 2014, and one of Mexico’s most brilliant minds in the world by Forbes Magazine in 2015. Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa is the recipient of the prestigious Charles B. Wilson Award granted by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) in 2021 due to his meritorious career in neurosurgery, and also serves as the current International Vice-chair of the AANS/CNS Tumor Section. Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa has also received multiple honoris causa degrees from several institutions around the globe, including Southern Vermont College, Lackawanna College, Dominican University, University of Notre Dame, Loyola University, and others countries like Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru. Apart from his clinical and research activities. He is the co-founder and president of the non-profit organization Mission:BRAIN (Bridging Resources and Advancing International Neurosurgery; www.missionbrain.org) and a member of the executive committee of Voices Against Brain Cancer. He has also founded three companies to extend the reach of his discoveries to more patients and has filed more than 25 patents with the same purpose.

Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa has published his inspirational autobiography, “Becoming Dr. Q,” which verses on his journey from a migrant farmworker to a neurosurgeon. Part of Dr. Quiñones-Hinojosa life was included in the 2009 Peabody Award-winning ABC TV Series “Hopkins” and the 2021 EMMY/ BAFTA Award-winning show “The Surgeons Cut,” produced by the BBC/Netflix. Disney and Plan B Entertainment productions announced that his inspirational life story will also be featured in theaters.