Seed Proposal: Targeted Contrast and Therapeutic Agents for Molecular Biomedical Imaging
Stephen Boppart, Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering, Colleges of Engineering and Medicine
William O’Brien, Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering, Colleges of Engineering and Medicine
Kevin Kim, Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering
Hyungsoo Choi, Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering
Michael Oelze, Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering
Kenneth Suslick, Department of Chemistry
John Katzenellenbogen, Department of Chemistry
Michael Strano, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Daniel Pack, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Kenneth Watkin, Department of Speech and Hearing Science
The development and application of molecularly-targeted contrast and therapeutic agents, across all clinical modalities, is in its infancy. Their development will contribute widely to the fields of medicine and biomedical imaging. The technical goals of this research initiative are as follows: 1) develop a set of contrast agents that may also have therapeutic capabilities; 2) develop a set of corresponding targeting protocols based on known cellular and molecular targets in cancer and heart disease; and 3) evaluate the efficacy of these targeted agents in tissue phantoms, cell cultures, and animal models. The intellectual merits of this proposal span multiple disciplines and directly address the need for translational research between the basic sciences, engineering and clinical medicine.