Dr. Holler serves as Professor of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Regensburg, Germany.

Dr. Holler’s internationaly renowned research focuses on design, synthesis and characterization of novel nanoscale drug delivery systems based on polymalic acid. These “nano drugs” are single macromolecules, which are applicable in personalized medicine especially cancer treatment. They provide targeting of tumor markers and an array of prodrugs which are activated at the site of targeted cells in response of specific cellular stimuli. The nanomedicine was established in preclinical models of solid breast and brain tumors and for brain metastases and is prepared for translation into clinics. After appropriate modifications, the nanomaterial was transformed into reagents for differential diagnosis by MRI of solid and metastatic brain tumors.

Current investigations include the drug delivery system passing through the blood-brain barrier to deliver drugs to brain tumors and having the ability to block several cancer-specific tumor markers by using biodegradable nanoconjugate for brain and breast tumors; cancer-specific drug targeting; and development of nano-imaging agents for the brain tumor “virtual biopsy” using MRI.