Laser ablation therapy has been used to treat pre-malignant lesions of the esophagus with the goal of preventing progression to adenocarcinoma. Existing laser ablation approaches, however, lack the precision necessary to target only the pathologic tissue while sparing neighboring healthy tissue, resulting in significant complications and reduced efficacy. The research focus of this K25 application is to develop and test in vivo a novel endoscopic laser therapy system capable of conforming local therapy to in situ measurements of local anatomy and physiology. The breadth of this research will provide an outstanding contextual training experience, highlighting the methods and conduct of biomedical and clinical research that will complement the candidate's existing expertise in physics and optical technologies. The research training component will occur within the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital under the primary mentorship of Dr. Bouma, a leader in the field of biomedical optics and translational clinical research. Research will initially focus on the in vitro testing of the system capabilities, which will provide training in the methods and interpretation of histopathology as well as the handling of biological tissues. Subsequent in vivo studies of the technical capabilities and safety of the system will provide training in the ethics and conduct of live animal and human studies. Complementary coursework offered at the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology will enable the candidate to develop a solid background in cancer biology, cancer treatment, and biostatistics. The training and preliminary data provided in this proposal will enable the candidate to prepare applications for funding that will enable a transition to independent research focusing on the translation of novel technologies to clinical practice. The immediate focus of the proposed research is to develop new methods capable of precise and comprehensive treatment of esophageal pathology prior to the onset of adenocarcinoma. Since esophageal adenocarcinoma is a prevalent disease associated with high morbidity and dismal survival, an improved therapeutic approach that addresses the shortcomings of currently available therapies will make a significant impact.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25)
Project #
5K25CA127465-05
Application #
8058796
Study Section
Subcommittee G - Education (NCI)
Program Officer
Jakowlew, Sonia B
Project Start
2007-05-01
Project End
2012-04-30
Budget Start
2011-05-01
Budget End
2012-04-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$102,281
Indirect Cost
Name
Massachusetts General Hospital
Department
Type
DUNS #
073130411
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02199
Siddiqui, Meena; Vakoc, Benjamin J (2012) Optical-domain subsampling for data efficient depth ranging in Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography. Opt Express 20:17938-51
Vakoc, Benjamin J; Fukumura, Dai; Jain, Rakesh K et al. (2012) Cancer imaging by optical coherence tomography: preclinical progress and clinical potential. Nat Rev Cancer 12:363-8
Zhang, Ellen Ziyi; Vakoc, Benjamin J (2011) Polarimetry noise in fiber-based optical coherence tomography instrumentation. Opt Express 19:16830-42
Mohan, Nishant; Vakoc, Benjamin (2011) Principal-component-analysis-based estimation of blood flow velocities using optical coherence tomography intensity signals. Opt Lett 36:2068-70
Villiger, Martin; Soroka, Andrew; Tearney, Guillermo J et al. (2011) Injury depth control from combined wavelength and power tuning in scanned beam laser thermal therapy. J Biomed Opt 16:118001
Choma, Michael A; Suter, Melissa J; Vakoc, Benjamin J et al. (2011) Physiological homology between Drosophila melanogaster and vertebrate cardiovascular systems. Dis Model Mech 4:411-20
Hariri, Lida P; Bouma, Brett E; Waxman, Sergio et al. (2010) An automatic image processing algorithm for initiating and terminating intracoronary ?OFDI pullback. Biomed Opt Express 1:566-573
Oh, Wang-Yuhl; Vakoc, Benjamin J; Shishkov, Milen et al. (2010) >400 kHz repetition rate wavelength-swept laser and application to high-speed optical frequency domain imaging. Opt Lett 35:2919-21
Suter, Melissa J; Jillella, Priyanka A; Vakoc, Benjamin J et al. (2010) Image-guided biopsy in the esophagus through comprehensive optical frequency domain imaging and laser marking: a study in living swine. Gastrointest Endosc 71:346-53
Choma, Michael A; Suter, Melissa J; Vakoc, Benjamin J et al. (2010) Heart wall velocimetry and exogenous contrast-based cardiac flow imaging in Drosophila melanogaster using Doppler optical coherence tomography. J Biomed Opt 15:056020

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