In 2000, West cofounded Nanospectra Biosciences in Houston to develop a cancer therapy based on gold nanoparticles that destroy tumor cells and has been listed by MIT Technology Review as one of the 100 most innovative young scientists and engineers world wide.
In 2000, Halas and West co-founded Nanospectra Biosciences in Houston to develop a cancer therapy based on gold nanoparticles that destroy tumor cells.
[10] As a result of her academic accomplishments, West earned a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to "develop national model programs that infuse undergraduate teaching with cutting-edge research.
[12] In 2009, West and her colleagues at the Texas Medical Center were asked to create a putty-like material that can be packed around broken bones on the battlefield to reduce complications from compound fractures.
[20] Following this, she improved on her design by adding an extremely thin layer of hydrogels to the surface that, when heated, lose their water content and release any molecules trapped within.
"[23] In December 2016, West was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors for "translating this scholarship in tangible ways to positively influence medicine.