Before changing fields to optical imaging, the candidate has worked doing research in elementary particle physics and general relativity in the area of superstring theory. The long term career goal of the candidate is to become an independent researcher who has a unique set of knowledge and breadth of experience in numerical and analytical modeling as well as in biomedical engineering and medical sciences in order to develop new medical imaging tools and applications contributing to understanding tumor management. The immediate goal of the candidate is to upgrade an existing hybrid x-ray/near-infrared tomography system for pre-clinical time-domain measurements, making it optimal for imaging glioma tumors grown in mice. The main research objective of this proposal is to develop new data acquisition methods and algorithms to create tomography images that provide synergistic anatomical and functional information pertaining to glioma tumor growth. Fluorescence molecular tomography and diffuse optical tomography studies will be performed based on different optical markers potentially providing complementaryinformation. The proposed methods will use structural anatomical images from x-ray tomography as prior information enhancing the utility of optical tomography data. The research will be conducted in synergy with a clinical trial underway at Dartmouth College evaluating how glioma tumor resection guided by fluoresence imaging can positively affect patient survival. Dartmouth has significant resources in the field of medical and engineering graduate education, and the candidate will use this career transition award to train at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, the Medical School and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, with a central appointment in the Engineering School. The candidate's research career will be developed by (i) taking courses in medical engineering, tissue biochemistry and biostatistics, (ii)taking part in related events and lectures, (iii)attending group meetings at the NCI funded Cancer Center, (iv) presenting research results at oncology, radiology and imaging conferences, (v) planning with scientists working in biomedical companies developing pre-clinical instruments, and (vi)making use of the NCI resources in molecular imaging agent development.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25)
Project #
1K25CA138578-01
Application #
7639764
Study Section
Subcommittee G - Education (NCI)
Program Officer
Jakowlew, Sonia B
Project Start
2009-07-01
Project End
2014-06-30
Budget Start
2009-07-01
Budget End
2010-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$178,284
Indirect Cost
Name
Dartmouth College
Department
Biomedical Engineering
Type
Schools of Engineering
DUNS #
041027822
City
Hanover
State
NH
Country
United States
Zip Code
03755
Roberts, David W; Olson, Jonathan D; Evans, Linton T et al. (2018) Red-light excitation of protoporphyrin IX fluorescence for subsurface tumor detection. J Neurosurg 128:1690-1697
Valdés, Pablo A; Jacobs, Valerie; Harris, Brent T et al. (2015) Quantitative fluorescence using 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX biomarker as a surgical adjunct in low-grade glioma surgery. J Neurosurg 123:771-80
Glaser, Adam K; Davis, Scott C; McClatchy, David M et al. (2013) Projection imaging of photon beams by the C?erenkov effect. Med Phys 40:012101
Tichauer, Kenneth M; Holt, Robert W; El-Ghussein, Fadi et al. (2013) Dual-tracer background subtraction approach for fluorescent molecular tomography. J Biomed Opt 18:16003
Valdés, Pablo A; Leblond, Frederic; Jacobs, Valerie L et al. (2012) Quantitative, spectrally-resolved intraoperative fluorescence imaging. Sci Rep 2:798
Roberts, David W; Valdés, Pablo A; Harris, Brent T et al. (2012) Adjuncts for maximizing resection: 5-aminolevuinic acid. Clin Neurosurg 59:75-8
Holt, Robert W; Tichauer, Kenneth M; Dehghani, Hamid et al. (2012) Multiple-gate time domain diffuse fluorescence tomography allows more sparse tissue sampling without compromising image quality. Opt Lett 37:2559-61
Konecky, Soren D; Owen, Chris M; Rice, Tyler et al. (2012) Spatial frequency domain tomography of protoporphyrin IX fluorescence in preclinical glioma models. J Biomed Opt 17:056008
Bonfert-Taylor, Petra; Leblond, Frederic; Holt, Robert W et al. (2012) Information loss and reconstruction in diffuse fluorescence tomography. J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis 29:321-30
Roberts, David W; Valdés, Pablo A; Harris, Brent T et al. (2012) Glioblastoma multiforme treatment with clinical trials for surgical resection (aminolevulinic acid). Neurosurg Clin N Am 23:371-7

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