Last Updated: February 25, 2008
The NanoTumor Center proudly presents the world-renowned team of scientists and industry experts working together to achieve our goal of develop solutions that will help fight cancer. Learn about each researcher by clicking on their name to get their biographical information.
Dennis Carson is a co-leader of Project 5 - Longitudinal Tumor Monitoring with Nanodevices. He is an internationally recognized immunology expert who has specialized in arthritis and cancer. He is the director of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center and professor of medicine at UCSD School of Medicine. He is also associate dean for cancer affairs and holder of the Chugai Pharmaceutical Chair in Cancer. He earned his medical degree in 1970 at Columbia University, completed his residency at UCSD, and received post-doctoral training at the Salk Institute, the National Institutes of Health and UCSD. He has published nearly 450 scientific papers, is an inventor on more than 60 U.S. and international patents, and has founded four companies. Dr. Carson is perhaps best known for his landmark work in developing a new agent called 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine, or 2-CdA, for the treatment of hairy cell leukemia. This drug, now marketed as Leustatin, is the treatment of choice for this disease and has resulted in long-term, complete remissions in about 75 percent of patients, often after just a single infusion. It is also effective in other lymphoid cancers, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis. Dr. Carson has been recognized with many awards-including the Arthritis Foundation's highest scientific honor, the Lee C. Howley Sr. Prize for Arthritis Research for his work on purine metabolism and rheumatoid factor and most recently, an award from the American Association for Cancer Research in honor of his contributions to understanding tumor biology and resultant improvements in cancer treatment. In recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in research, he was also recently elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.
Autoimmune Disease, Cancers of the lymphoid tissues The Carson laboratory studies autoimmune diseases and cancers of the lymphoid system. We aim to delineate molecular differences between pathologic and normal tissues that can serve as targets for therapy. We have discovered two new targets during the last year. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells and some lymphoma cells are hypersensitive to chemical inhibitors of microtubule polymerization, even though the malignant cells divide very slowly. The molecular basis for the hypersensivity is not known, and thus has been difficult to exploit therapeutically. We discovered that the apparently quiescent malignant lymphocytes turn over their microtubules at an abnormally rapid pace, to facilitate cell movement through the body. We synthesized a low molecular weight inhibitor of tubulin turnover, called indanocine, that kills the leukemia and lymphoma cells, without harming normal lymphocytes. In rheumatoid arthritis, the normally thin joint lining turns into lymphoid granulation tissue that produces autoantibodies and cytokines. Why the abnormal tissue persists in an anomalous site is not known. We discovered that the normal appearing joint lining cells of rheumatoid arthritis patients, but not control subjects, express high levels of receptors of the wnt and frizzled family that regulate limb bud formation during embryogenesis. Moreover, interference with signaling through the wnt5a pathway blocked the formation of inflammatory cytokines.
David Cheresh is the leader of Project 6 - Tumor Therapy/Annihilation using a Smart Nanoplatform. He is Professor of Pathology at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. Prior to relocating his laboratory in 2005, he was a professor in the Departments of Immunology and Vascular Biology at The Scripps Research Institute, focusing on the role of adhesion receptors and growth factors in the angiogenesis of tumors. 2005-Present, Professor of Pathology, UCSD School of Medicine 1996-2005, Professor, Department of Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute 1989-1996, Associate Professor, Department of Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute 1985-1989, Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute 1984-1985, Senior Research Associate, Research Institute of Scripps Clinic 1982-1984, Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Institute of Scripps Clinic 1979-1982, Graduate Assistant Instructor, Department of Microbiology, University of Miami, Florida
The Cheresh laboratory studies tumor angiogenesis and tumor cell invasion and metastasis. They have developed a number of inhibitors of tumor angiogenesis that are now being tested clinically in cancer patients. Two of these agents, Vitaxin and Celingitide, show promise for late stage cancer patients and appear safe with little or no side effects. Their basic research efforts primarily deal with the study of molecular mechanisms that regulate tumor cell and endothelial cell survival, migration and invasion. They focus on signaling pathways initiated by extracellular matrix proteins, integrins and growth factor receptors that influence the biology of tumor cells and angiogenic endothelial cells. Cheresh and his colleagues have a particular interest in alpha V integrins and their ligands and how integrins regulate the epithelial to mesenchymal transition. They previously reported that integrins avb3 and avb5 mediate distinct mechanisms of angiogenesis regulated by the growth factors basic fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial cell growth factor, respectively. These pathways are characterized by distinct signaling pathways and differential activation of Raf kinase in endothelial cells. More recently they have begun to develop small molecule Raf kinase pathway inhibitors that promote endothelial cell apoptosis and serve to disrupt angiogenesis and tumor growth.
Sadik Esener is the Leader of the Administrative Core, and co-leader of Project 2 - Targeted In vivo micro Platform for Nano Devices. He joined the UCSD faculty in 1987, after receiving his Ph.D. in Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering from UCSD the same year. He leads UCSD's OptoElectronic Computing Group, and is the director of: the DARPA-funded multi-university Center for Chips with Heterogenously Integrated Photonics (CHIPS); the 3D-Opto-Electronic Stacked Processors industry/university consortium; and the Fast Read-out Optical Storage (FROST) Industry consortium. He has authored more than 100 journal publications and 200 conference abstracts. Esener is a member of IEEE, OSA, and SPIE, and co-founded San Diego-based Nanogen, Optical Micro-Machines, Parallel Solutions, Genoptix, and Call/Recall Inc. 2000-Present, Director of the DARPA sponsored CHIPS Multi-University Opto-center 1996-Present, Full Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 1998-2002, Director of the DARPA sponsored FROST Industry Consortium 1997-2001, Director of the DARPA sponsored 3-D OESP Univ./lndustry Consortium 1993-2003, President and Co-Founder Call-Recall, Inc., San Diego, CA 1991-1996, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 1987-1991, Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 1986-1987, Acting Assistant Professor Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Professor Esener is an internationally known expert in photonics and opto-electronics, and he has been closely involved with five startup companies based on technology developed in his laboratories. His research interests include light modulation, detection, and amplification, heterogeneous integration of optoelectronic components, optical data storage, optical interconnects and related computing architectures, and biophotonics as applied to gene chips. Esener is a pioneer in the fields of free-space optical interconnects, parallel access volumetric optical data storage, DNA-assisted heterogeneous integration and optical cell sorting, and holds many patents in these areas. Esener's research team is working on diverse projects pushing the limits of the state of the art. They include active and passive photonic device processing and hybrid integration techniques; photonics sub-systems assembly such as optically interconnected Fast Fourier Transform accelerator boards; and parallel light tweezer systems for handling and characterization of biological entities.
Stephen Howell is the leader of the Pharmacology/Toxicology Core, and is a Professor of Medicine and medical oncologist and leads the Cancer Pharmacology Program of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. He received his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed his internship and residency in medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and then served in the U.S. Public Health Service as a research associate at the National Cancer Institute. Following a senior residency at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Howell completed training in medical oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He joined the UCSD faculty in 1977.
Development of novel cancer drugs and drug delivery systems and investigation of the molecular mechanisms of resistance to antineoplastic agents. The efficacy, pharmacokinetics and toxicology of new cancer drugs are studied in preclinical models and clinical trials. Mechanisms of resistance are studied in cell lines and tumor models using molecular, genetic, biochemical and cellular pharmacologic techniques. Particular attention is focused on transporters by which drugs enter and exit from tumor cells, and the repair systems that cells utilize to recover from drug-induced injury.
Evelyn Hu is a co-leader of the Synthesis/Fabrication Core. Before joining UCSB in 1984, she worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories, developing microfabrication and nanofabrication techniques to facilitate the study of superconducting and semiconducting devices and circuits. She has continued those research themes at UCSB, through a variety of collaborative efforts, examining processes critical for the fabrication and operation of superconducting, electronic and optical devices. In particular, she has focused on ion-assisted chemical etching techniques having high spatial resolution, photo-driven processing tuned to the unique optical properties of the materials, and passivation treatments to enhance optical and electrical properties of structures at submicron dimensions. She has studied the formation of high quality, heterogeneous interfaces, such as those between semiconductors and superconductors, oxide and semiconductor, or two non lattice-matched semiconductors. She is currently serving as Director of QUEST, the NSF Science and Technology Center for Quantized Electronic Structures. She as well directs Nanotech, the UCSB component of the NSF National Nanofabrication Users Network. She also holds joint appointments in ECE and Materials, and is the Scientific Co-Director of the newly-formed California Nanosystems Institute, a UCLA-UCSB collaborative California Institute for Science and Innovation. She has served as Vice Chair (1989-92), and subsequently Chair (1992-94) of the ECE Department. She received the Tau Beta Pi Outstanding Faculty Award in ECE for 1989-90. Professor Hu is a Fellow of the APS and IEEE. In 1995, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering from Glasgow University.
Professor Hu's research has led to the development of high-resolution fabrication techniques for semiconductor device structures for both electronics and photonics as well as other advances in process-related materials damage, contact/interface studies, and superconductivity. In particular, she has focused on ion-assisted chemical etching techniques having high spatial resolution, photo-driven processing tuned to the unique optical properties of the materials, and passivation treatments to enhance optical and electrical properties of structures at submicron dimensions. She has studied the formation of high quality, heterogeneous interfaces, such as those between semiconductors and superconductors, oxide and semiconductor, or two non lattice-matched semiconductors.
Thomas Kipps is a co-leader of Project 5 - Longitudinal Tumor Monitoring with Nanodevices. 2000-Present, Deputy Director of Research, UCSD Cancer Center. 1995-Present, Head, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Univ of CA, San Diego, La Jolla, CA. 1994-Present, Professor, Dept of Medicine, Univ of CA, San Diego, La Jolla, CA. 1998-2000, Director, Translational Oncology Program, Moores UCSD Cancer Center 1994-1998, Co-Director, Biologic Response Modifiers Program, Moores UCSD Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA 1991-1998, Director, Immunology Program 1993-2000 Associate Director, Gene Therapy Program, UCSD, La Jolla, CA. 1990-1994, Associate Professor, Dept of Medicine, Univ of CA, San Diego, La Jolla, CA. 1989-1990, Associate Member, Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, CA. 1988-1990, Co-Director, Flow Cytometry Center, Research Institute of Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California. 1985-1989, Assistant Member, Department of Basic and Clinical Research, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, La Jolla, CA. 1982-1985, Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Hematology, Stanford U Medical Center, Stanford, CA. 1979-1982, Resident, Internal Medicine, Stanford U Medical Center, Stanford, CA.
Dr. Kipps research focuses on 4 areas: 1) Human B cell physiology with emphasis on B cell antigen presentation, accessory molecules involved in cognate T-cell <-> B-cell interactions, signal transduction, and immunoglobulin gene expression, 2) Human B cell lymphoproliferative diseases with emphasis on pathogenic mechanisms, immunoglobulin gene expression, and innovative forms of immunotherapy, 3) In vitro or in vivo somatic cell transfection or transduction using plasmid DNA or viral expression vectors for gene immunotherapy of neoplastic disease, and 4) structure-function studies of immunoglobulin or accessory molecules involved in signal transduction or cognate cell-cell interactions. Dr. Kipps is deputy director of the UCSD Comprehensive Cancer Center, and also directs the CLL Research Consortium, a multi-institution research program sponsored by the National Cancer Institute to study chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The consortium brings together the nation's top scientists from different disciplines--genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, immunology and pharmacology--to conduct an integrated program of basic and clinical research focused on CLL.
Andrew Kummel is the leader of Project 4 - Ex vivo Sensors and Phenotypes for Cancer cells. 1996-Present, Professor, UCSD 1994-1996, Associate Prof., UCSD 1988-1994, Assistant Prof., UCSD 1988, Appointed to faculty, UCSD 1988, Postdoctoral position, Cornell University 1988, Ph.D. Stanford University 1984, M.S. Stanford University 1981, B.S. Yale University
STM/STS of gate oxides on compound semiconductors and adsorbates on organic semiconductor. As semiconductor devices decrease in size to atomic dimensions, an atomic level knowledge of the interfaces in semiconductors device is required. We combine the vapor deposition of oxides and organic semiconductors with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), and density functional theory (DFT) computations to develop a fundamental understanding of the chemistry and physics of semiconductor interfaces. Atomic Structure of Interfaces of Gate Oxides on Semiconductors: As semiconductor gate lengths shrink below 150 nm, the gate oxides must become thinner and have a higher dielectric constant. Our group is studying deposition processes and bonding structures that result in electrically passive interfaces between high-k oxides and many semiconductors surfaces. By studying the adsorption of Ga2O, In2O, SiO, O, and O2 on GaAs(001) STM, STS, and DFT calculations, we have been able to obtain an atomistic understanding of Fermi level pinning and unpinning at the GaAs(001)/oxide interface. Current aspects of this project include (a) oxides interfaces on InAs which has over 20x the electron speed of silicon, (b) oxide interfaces on AlGaAs which is used in InP devices, (c) oxide interfaces on Ge which has over 4x the hole speed of silicon, and (d) cross sectional STM of oxide-semiconductor interfaces. Chemical Sensing with Metal Phthalocyanines: Metal phthalocynaines (MPcs) can be used as the carrier layer in transistors (ChemFETs) to fabricate a gas sensor with very high sensitivity (ppb) because MPcs change from insulating to semiconducting upon gas absorption. We are studying the formation of the MPcs films and gas adsorption on MPcs with STM. In addition, we are using vacuum deposition to form gas sensors with MPcs.
Robert Mattrey is a co-leader of the Imaging/Modeling Core, and is a Professor of Radiology at UCSD Medical Center, in the Department of Radiology. His main focus in radiology research has contributed to his being given the position of Vice Chairman of Radiology, Director of Research. He is also the Director of In-vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Program, Director of Core Resources, Clinical Investigational Institute at UCSD and the Director of Body MRI. Along with research and clinical trials, his clinical duties include General Radiology and Body Imaging (CT/US/MRI). Dr. Mattrey was educated at the State University of New York at Buffalo where in 1971 he received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. In 1973, he obtained an M.S. in Electrical Engineering, at the State University New York at Buffalo. He received his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1978. His Residency in Diagnostic Radiology, was completed through the University of California, San Diego, Dept. of Radiology in 1978-81 where he was elected Chief Resident. His Fellowship training in CT/Ultrasound/Interventional, were also completed at the University of California, San Diego, Department of Radiology in 1981-82. Currently Dr. Mattrey maintains an active laboratory at UCSD in Hillcrest and the Cancer Center, in La Jolla. His research has recently focused on molecular imaging with particular emphasis on ultrasound contrast and the development of new instrumentation. At the national and international level, Dr. Mattrey is viewed as an expert body imager with special expertise in contrast media in general, and ultrasound contrast in particular. He has been invited to lecture at many national and international meetings. He serves as an advisor to industry to establish business strategy. He has recently been asked to serve on a Committee of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine to establish a liaison with the Food and Drug Administration to educate the FDA on the benefits of ultrasound contrast in order to speed their entry and availability to the American public for radiological applications.
Dr. Sarah Blair is a specialist in oncology surgery. She completed a fellowship in Surgical Oncology at City of Hope National Medical Center, where she was honored as the Terrell McElligot Surgical Oncology Fellow. She received advanced training in the surgical treatment of breast cancers, melanoma, sarcoma and other surgical tumors. She is certified by the American Board of General Surgery.
Dr. Blair's emphasis is the compassionate care of complicated cancer cases. She has a strong background and many years of experience in treating patients with cancer. She is involved in a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment of breast cancer. She has extensive experience in cutting edge technologies such as sentinel node staging for breast cancer, melanoma, and other soft tissue tumors.
In her research at UCSD, Dr. Blair is developing a method for using advanced imaging techniques to ensure that all the tumor cells are removed during a cancer surgery. The method will be used in the operating room, while a cancer surgery is in progress, to detect any cancer cells that may be present in samples of tissue taken from the edges of the surgical area. The ability to do this test while the patient is still under anesthesia will help make it possible for the surgeon to remove the tumor precisely, and the need for any additional surgery may be avoided.
Erkki Ruoslahti is the leader of Project 1 - Nanoparticles In vivo: Interactions with Cells and Tissues. He is a Distinguished Professor and Past President of The Burnham Institute. He is also Adjunct Professor at the UCSD Bioengineering Department. He earned his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Helsinki in Finland in 1967. After postdoctoral training at the California Institute of Technology, he held various academic appointments with the University of Helsinki and the University of Turku in Finland and City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California. He joined The Burnham Institute in 1979 and served as its President from 1989-2002. His honors include elected membership to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the European Molecular Biology Organization. He is the recipient of the G.H.A. Clowes Award, Robert J. and Claire Pasarow Foundation Award, Jacobaeus International Prize, The Jubilee Award given by the British Biomedical Society, is an Honorary Doctor of Medicine from the University of Lund, a Nobel Fellow at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and a Knight of the Order of the White Rose of Finland. Dr. Ruoslahti is the recipient of the 2005 Japan Prize in Cell Biology.
The underlying theme of Dr. Ruoslahti's work is metastasis, the process of cancer spread to distant sites in the body. Cancer is so lethal because, unlike normal cells, cancer cells can migrate to distant sites where they do not belong and multiply there. The metastatic growths that result are what often makes cancer incurable. Normal cells attach to an insoluble protein scaffold, extracellular matrix, that fills the spaces in between cells. Should they detach, they will promptly die in a suicide-like process. One of the fundamental characteristics of cancer cells is that they can detach and stay alive to eventually metastasize. The chemistry of the cell-extracellular matrix interactions worked out by this laboratory has lead to a major drug development effort. Two drugs that prevent blood clotting by this mechanism are already in the clinic, and others are being developed, including an anti-cancer drug. Current work focuses on the signals that cells receive from attachment. The vasculature, consisting of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, is the conduit of distant metastasis. Moreover, a tumor needs blood vessels to be able to grow. The Ruoslahti lab discovers and exploits differences that exist between vessels in tumors and normal tissues. They are now able to selectively target drugs to tumor blood vessels in mice and thereby suppress the growth of a tumor. Quite recently, they have found a way to selectively target the lymphatic vessels in tumors. They hope that selectively destroying these blood and lymphatic vessels will curtail metastasis.
Michael Sailor is a co-leader of Project 2 - Targeted In vivo micro Platform for Nano Devices. He received a B.S. in chemistry from Harvey Mudd College in 1983 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Northwestern University in 1988. His Ph.D. thesis work involved the synthesis of organometallic metal clusters, in the laboratory of professor Duward Shriver. He then did postdoctoral research studying semiconductor photoelectrochemistry with professor Nathan S. Lewis at Stanford and at Caltech. He began his faculty appointment in the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of California at San Diego in 1990, becoming Associate Professor in 1994 and Full Professor in 1996. Professor Sailor is a member of the Executive Steering Committee of the UCSD Materials Science division, and he is on the editorial advisory boards of Advanced Materials, J.C.S. Chemical Communications, and Nanotechnology Newsletter. He is the author of over 100 research publications, in subjects related to nanotechnology, materials chemistry, sensors, and electrochemistry. He has 28 patents or patents pending, 21 of which have been licensed to established or startup-stage companies. He has supervised over 100 undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral research students.
Professor Sailor's research focuses on the chemistry, electrochemistry, and photophysics of nanophase semiconductors, with emphasis on sensors, photonic crystals and biomaterials. His research is directed towards applications in medical diagnostics, high-throughput screening, and low-power sensing of toxins, pollutants, biomarkers, and chemical or biological warfare agents.
Shankar Subramaniam is the leader of the Biocomputing Core. 1999-Present, Appointed to faculty, Bioengineering, and adjunct faculty, Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCSD 1999, Elected Fellow, Institute for Biomedical Engineering 1991-1999, Appointed to faculty, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1990, Visiting Scientist, Princeton University and Senior Research Scientist, Squibb Institute for Med. Research 1986-1990, Asst. Director Scientific Development and Visiting Assistant Prof. of Chemistry, University of Houston 1974-1976, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Fellowship 1982, Ph.D. Indian Institute of Technology 1972-1974, Indian National Merit Scholarship 1972, B.Sc., Osmania Univeristy
The major mandate of genome research is to identify all the coding protein sequences, understand their function and perhaps their association with molecular diseases. Even if the steps towards this task can be outlined, they are not easily accomplished. First, it is necessary to identify all the genes. Then, the structure and function of all the gene products are to be discovered. And finally the role of the gene product in a functional pathway and its role in the functioning of the organism have to be deciphered. The human genome alone is estimated to contain 3 billion base pairs coding for about 100,000 proteins. Myriad species have comparable genome sizes. Understanding how genomes work requires sophisticated computer-based information handling tools - bioinformatics - and new high throughput technologies for understanding the function of genes on a genome-wide scale (functional genomics). Due to the complexity of this new paradigm in biology, i.e., understanding the organization, evolution and function of whole genomes rather than single genes, entirely new sets of tools and human resources will be necessary. Thus, future developments in genomics, and the applications that derive from genomics, will be dependent upon the scientific progress at the interface of three major disciplines; biology, engineering, and computer science. My laboratory works in this interdisciplinary area of bioinformatics. Bioinformatics characterizes the flow of information in living systems. The flow of information in living systems is Genome->Gene Products->Function->Pathways. Our laboratory is associated with specific projects in these areas.
William Trogler is a co-leader of the Synthesis/Fabrication Core. 1983-Present, Appointed to UCSD faculty 1988, Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 1983-1986, Alfred P. Sloan Fellow 1977-1983, Appointed to faculty, Northwestern University 1977, Ph.D. California Institute of Technology 1974, B.A., M.A. Johns Hopkins
William Trogler's research focuses on new nanostructured materials for sensors. This includes use of luminescent polymetalloles and copolymers for explosives detection, and aqueous nanoparticle (70-100 nm) suspensions for detecting carcinogenic chromium(VI) and arsenic(V). Nanosensors based on metallophthalocyanines and porous amorphous metallophthalocyanines have been fabricated and characterized in collaborative studies with Profs. Kummel and Schuller's groups. The method will be adapted for attaching cell specific antibodies for cancer cells in the next phase, which includes Dr. Thomas Kipps's group at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. Surface chemistry will be used to attach antibodies to an array of gold features, lithographically patterned on a substrate, whose surface has been modified to prevent nonspecific binding. Internal labeling of the fixed cell array with cancer specific antibody-quanum dot conjugates will provide parallel readout of low levels of cancer cells among the background of normal cells in the array.
Roger Tsien is a co-leader of Project 3 - Tumor Activated Amplification System. He is a professor in the Depts. of Pharmacology and of Chemistry & Biochemistry at UCSD and Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 1996 he was a scientific co-founder of Aurora Biosciences Corporation, which went public in 1997 and was acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals in 2001. In 1999 he was a scientific co-founder of Senomyx, Inc. 1989-Present, Professor, Depts. of Pharmacology and Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego 1989, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Appointed to faculty 1987-1989, Professor, Dept. of Physiology-Anatomy, University of California, Berkeley 1985-1987, Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Physiology-Anatomy, University of California, Berkeley 1982-1989, Appointed to faculty, University of California, Berkeley 1981-1985, Asst. Professor, Dept. of Physiology-Anatomy, University of California, Berkeley 1978-1981, Postdoctoral research with Dr. T.J. Rink, Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge, England 1977, Ph.D. University of Cambridge 1972, A.B. Harvard College
We build both small synthetic molecules and genetically encoded macromolecules, preferably working in synergy, to detect and manipulate biochemical signals. Current projects include: 1) Genetically encoded chemosensors: We have created fluorescent sensors of intracellular Ca2+ and of many serine/threonine or tyrosine protein kinase activities by fusing fluorescent proteins with modules that change conformation upon binding Ca2+ or becoming phosphorylated. These sensors open tremendous possibilities for imaging dynamic signal transduction at spatial dimensions ranging from the submicroscopic to entire transgenic organisms. Analogous indicators for redox potential, membrane potential, and synaptic transmitters are under development. 2) Organic synthetic tags targeted by molecular biology: Natural fluorescent proteins are somewhat large and limited in spectroscopic properties. We have shown that a much smaller protein motif containing four cysteines can be specifically labeled in living cells with membrane-permeant small molecules carrying two appropriately spaced arsenic substituents. Such dyes allow pulse-chase determination of the age of individual protein molecules, localization by electron microscopy, and rapid photochemically-induced inactivation. We are pursuing many biological applications as well as developing an independent system involving histidine and Zn2+ rather than cysteines and As(III). 3) Imaging specific mRNAs in intact animals and patients: We are working towards catalytic RNAs that would detect specific mRNAs via highly amplifying, noninvasive nonoptical readouts, eventually to help image and treat tumors that express key cancer-specific mRNAs.
Peter Asbeck joined the UCSD faculty in 1991. He received his Ph.D. from MIT in 1975. He worked at the Sarnoff Research Center in Princeton, NJ and Philips Laboratory in Briarcliff Manor, NY, before joining the Rockwell International Science Center (Thousand Oaks, CA) in 1978. While there, he carried out pioneering work in the area of heterojunction bipolar transistors, including development of high-speed devices and circuits based on III-V compounds and heterojunctions. He stayed there until joining UCSD in 1991. He currently leads the UCSD High-Speed Device Group, including work on HBT and HFET devices, Silicon on Sapphire (SOS) technologies, power amplifier architectures and characterization, and opto-electronic interface circuits. Asbeck is also on the Executive Committee of UCSD's Integrated Technologies Laboratory (ITL).
With a dozen patents to his name, Professor Asbeck spent the first part of his career in industry. He is one of the pioneers in the area of HBTs (heterojunction bipolar transistors). Currently, the focus of his research is on developing technologies for more efficient microwave power amplifiers in wireless telephone handsets and base stations. The advanced transistors under development in his lab involve III-V materials including gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, and gallium nitride. Asbeck also works on high-speed wireline circuits and fiber-optic devices, and is researching smaller, more efficient wireless antennas to make way for communicators with multiple antennas to maximize access...Asbeck can talk about the future of the wireless industry from the perspective of someone who has helped make cell phones more efficient. He is an expert on the competing requirements of third-generation wireless standards (CDMA2000, W-CDMA) when it comes to amplifiers and transistors. Asbeck is also associated with the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology and its plans to deploy wireless environmental sensors that will require much smaller and more efficient power amplifiers.
Sangeeta Bhatia is an Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her work focuses on using micro- and nanotechnology tools to repair damaged tissues. Dr. Bhatia trained at Brown, MIT, and Harvard. After postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, she was a member of the Bioengineering Department at University of California at San Diego for 6 years. In 2005, she returned to Boston to join the MIT faculty. She has been awarded the David and Lucile Packard Fellowship given to 'the nation's most promising young professors in science and engineering,' the MIT TR100 Young Innovators Award, and been named one of San Diego 's '50 People to Watch in 2004.' Her research portfolio includes funding from NIH, NSF, DARPA, NASA, the Whitaker Foundation, the Packard Foundation, and private industry. She co-authored the first undergraduate textbook on tissue engineering and is a frequent advisor to governmental organizations on cell-based sensing, nanobiotechnology, and tissue engineering. She holds 12 issued or pending patents and has worked in industry at Pfizer, Genetics Institute, ICI Pharmaceuticals, and Organogenesis. Selected Publications: Click to go to the Publications listing Microscale Tissue Engineering Lab: Click to view the Patents and Inventions
Microscale Tissue Engineering and development of Biological Micro-Electo-Mechanical Systems. Use of microfabrication techniques for control of cellular microenvironment. Focus in hepatic physiology, pathophysiology and replacement therapies. BioMEMs applications also in cell-based biosensors, high-throughput screening, and surface science tools.
Michael Bouvet is a co-leader of the Imaging/Modeling Core. He has extensive training and experience in cancer surgery. He completed advanced fellowship training in surgical oncology at the renowned M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. Here at UCSD, Dr. Bouvet is a key surgeon and administrator at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center, where he serves as Co-Director of the Specialized Gastrointestinal Cancer Care Unit and Director of Surgical Services. In his research at UCSD, Dr. Bouvet conducts major investigations on the growth and spread of pancreatic cancer and the treatment of pancreatic cancer and other tumors. He is a co-investigator on a major National Cancer Institute-funded study on the treatment, understanding, and monitoring of cancer. In his recent medical publications, he has reported on new techniques for imaging pancreatic cancer and for understanding its causes and the factors that influence its growth.
Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Gastrointestinal Cancer, Melanoma, Pancreatic Cancer, Parathyroid disease, Thyroid, Thyroid Cancer Bouvet's clinical interests include surgery for pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, thyroid cancer or thyroid nodules, parathyroid surgery, adrenal surgery, and gastrointestinal surgery (including esophageal, stomach, colon, and rectal cancer). His research interests include orthotopic models of pancreatic cancer and growth regulation of pancreatic cancer.
Patrick Daugherty is a co-leader of Project 3 - Tumor Activated Amplification System. He came to UCSB in 1999 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. He received his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
Precision molecular recognition underlies the circuitry of complex biological systems. Current research in my laboratory aims to elucidate protein interaction principles in biological systems, and to develop and apply methods and technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. We have developed several new technologies that enable i) isolation and engineering of protein-binding ligands with improved affinity and specificity, ii) semi-automated affinity ligand isolation using micro-fluidic cell sorters, iii) intracellular sensing and screening for enzyme activity and protein interactions, and iv) engineering and characterization of peptidases. These new biotechnologies create significant opportunities to apply molecular and cellular engineering to improve human health. In particular, we are applying these tools to develop advanced medical diagnostic technologies, and novel therapeutic approaches that rely upon engineered molecular machines and artificial signal transduction systems. Our work is highly interdisciplinary and benefits from several active collaborations with academic and industrial laboratories, and physicians.
Marye Anne Fox, a nationally known chemist and academic leader, was named the seventh chancellor of the University of California, San Diego in April 2004 by the University of California Board of Regents. Previously, Fox was chancellor and distinguished university professor of chemistry at North Carolina State University, a post she held since 1998. Before going to North Carolina, Fox spent 22 years at the University of Texas, where she advanced from assistant professor of organic chemistry to vice president for research and held the Waggoner Regents Chair in chemistry. Fox has held over 50 endowed lectureships at universities around the world. She has also served as visiting professor at Harvard University, the University of Iowa, the University of Chicago, the Universite Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris and the Chemistry Research Promotion Center in Taipei. Fox, 56, earned a bachelor's degree in science from Notre Dame College, a master's degree in science from Cleveland State University and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and has served on its executive committee, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an elected member of the American Philosophical Society. Fox has received numerous awards, including the Charles Lathrop Parsons Award for 2005 from the American Chemical Society in recognition of outstanding public service. She has received a long list of research awards from professional societies in the U.S. and abroad. She also has been honored with numerous teaching awards, as well as the Monie Ferst Award, a national award recognizing outstanding mentoring of graduate students. More than 50 students have received advanced degrees under her supervision, and over 100 postdoctoral fellows and sabbatical visitors have worked with her.
Making progress toward these goals requires that we understand a great deal about basic chemical processes and the reactivity of intermediates in unusual environments as we seek to find new organic reactions and define their mechanisms. In one particularly fruitful area, we have investigated organic reactions on the surfaces of irradiated semiconductors and have found that controlling electron transfer in non-homogeneous media such as zeolites, thin films, or supercritical fluids is a key step. Fundamental to these studies is a characterization of excited states, radicals, and radical ions in these media. These studies involve not only the usual techniques of organic synthesis and mechanistic chemistry, but also special applications of laser spectroscopy, electrochemical methodology, and surface analysis. We are also interested in preparing new macromolecular arrays (polymers, liquid crystals, etc.) that allow us to control macroscopic properties (such as directionality of electron transport, thermal expansion, or conductivity) in designed materials.
Michael Heller joined the UCSD faculty in 2001. He has a joint appointment between the departments of Bioengineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Colorado State University. His rich scientific experience includes working as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at Northwestern University, supervising the DNA Technology Group at Amoco Corporation, and serving as the Director of Molecular Biology at Molecular Biosystems, Inc. In 1987 Heller was elected President and Chief Operating Officer at Integrated DNA Technologies. In 1993 he co-founded and became the Chief Technical Officer at Nanogen, Inc., that was based on his invention of microelectronic-based DNA chip technology. His experience includes many areas of biotechnology, with particular expertise in DNA molecular diagnostics and fluorescent/optoelectronic based detection technologies. He served on the White House National Nanotechnology Initiative panel in 1999/2000, and is presently serving on the NAS National Nanotechnology Initiative Review panel. His current research interests include the development of high performance bioanalytical techniques and technologies for genomic, proteomic and phamacogenomic applications. This includes novel devices (DNA array/lLab-on-a-Chip) and systems for mutation scanning, ultra-fast DNA sequencing, single molecule detection, and combinatorial selection processes. His nanotechnology research involves the development of bio-molecular based mechanisms for photonic/electronic energy transfer, chemical to mechanical energy conversions, and DNA based self-organizing nanostructures for data storage and computation. He also works on developing nanofabrication processes for the assembly of highly integrated macroscopic 2D and 3D structures from molecular and nanoscale components.
Professor Heller's experience includes many areas of biotechnology, with particular expertise in DNA molecular diagnostics and fluorescent/optoelectronic based detection technologies. Heller's most recent work involved the development of integrated DNA chip devices and systems for genomic and biomedical research and clinical diagnostic applications. He has also been involved in the development of biosensor systems for the detection of infectious agents related to national response to bioterroism. Heller served on the White House National Nanotechnology Initiative panel in 1999/2000, and is presently serving on the NAS National Nanotechnology Initiative Review panel. His current research interests include the development of high performance bioanalytical techniques and technologies for genomic, proteomic and phamacogenomic applications. This includes novel devices (DNA array/lLab-on-a-Chip) and systems for mutation scanning, ultra-fast DNA sequencing, single molecule detection, and combinatorial selection processes. His nanotechnology research involves the development of bio-molecular based mechanisms for photonic/electronic energy transfer, chemical to mechanical energy conversions, and DNA based self-organizing nanostructures for data storage and computation. He also works on developing nanofabrication processes for the assembly of highly integrated macroscopic 2D and 3D structures from molecular and nanoscale components.
Daniel Morse is Director of the UCSB-MIT-Caltech Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, and founder and past Chair of the Interdisciplinary Program in Biomolecular Science and Engineering at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Morse received his B.A. degree in Biochemistry from Harvard in 1963, and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1967. He conducted postdoctoral studies in Molecular Genetics at Stanford University, and then was appointed the Silas Arnold Houghton Associate Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School before joining the faculty of the University of California. He's been awarded a Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health and a Faculty Research Award from the American Cancer Society; honored as a Distinguished Faculty Scholar by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and as a Visiting Lecturer in Japan and the University of Paris; elected a Regents Fellow of the Smithsonian Institution; and elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His students have received international recognition and awards in numerous symposia and international research meetings.
Biomolecular Materials, Biomineralization and New Materials Conducting research at the intersection of biotechnology and nanotechnology in an exciting new interdisciplinary collaboration that combines the approaches of molecular biology and biotechnology with the skills of colleagues in Materials Engineering, Physics, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, we are discovering the molecular mechanisms governing biomineralization, and using these mechanisms to develop new strategies for the synthesis of high-performance, nanostructured composite materials for tomorrow's advanced optoelectronics, microelectronics, catalysts, sensors and energy transducers. Control of Larval Metamorphosis, Recruitment and Gene Expression We also are pursuing the mechanisms by which signal molecules from the environment regulate larval metamorphosis, recruitment, gene activation and development in the larvae of corals, abalones and other marine animals.
Cengiz Ozkan came to UC Riverside from the Applied Micro Circuits Corporation in San Diego, California, where he worked as the Senior Development Engineer from 1997 through 2001. He organized symposiums for the American Society for Mechanical Engineers-MMC 2001 Meeting in San Diego, CA and for the Fall 2001 Meeting of the Materials Research Society in Boston, MA. He is a member of the Materials Research Society, the Biomedical Engineering Society, and the American Society for Mechanical Engineers. His awards include a Ph.D. Fellowship by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Cengiz Ozkan's research interests are in the areas of wafer fab processing, thin film mechanics and nanotechnology. His research in thin films emphasized strain relaxation, defect formation and morphological evolution in heteroepitaxial thin films and reliability of microelectronic devices. His current research is focused on self-assembly of structures and nanofabrication in semiconductors and polymers and fabrication of micro- and nano- electromechanical systems for biosensing and mechanical testing.
Mihri Ozkan is the principle investigator of Bio-MEMS (Bio-microelectro mechanical systems) and Bio-Photonics laboratory. Her research interests include the development of novel Biomedical Microdevices and the exploration of engineering principles in the field of Bio-Photonics and Bio-MEMS. The design of multi-functional, smart and complex systems such as lab-on-a-chip platforms that require the integration of optical, electrical, chemical, biological and fluidic (mechanical) components constructed from dissimilar materials summarizes her primary interest.
Mihri Ozkan's research interests include the development of novel biological-micro-mechanical-systems (Bio-MEMS) and the exploration of engineering principles in the field of Bio-Photonics and Bio-Electronics. Her interdisciplinary background previously helped her to fabricate an electrically and optically addressable micro-device to address and array optoelectronic devices on silicon based circuits and live cells on a sealed-chip arrangement. Similarly, the design of multi-functional, smart and complex systems such as lab-on-a-chip platforms that require the integration of optical, electrical, chemical, biological and fluidic (mechanical) components constructed from dissimilar materials summarizes her primary interest. To convey multi-functionality, individual processing units need to be miniaturized to micro or nano scale. This procedure may not be trivial and cannot be easily scaled down. It can require massive engineering analysis and characterization of each processing unit in terms of mechanical, thermal, electrical stability and biological compatibility. Finally, miniaturized processing units need to be heterogeneously integrated on the same platform. As a summary, Dr. Ozkan's laboratory centers on the development of novel physical and engineering principles to miniaturize each processing units and also focuses on the development of new heterogeneous integration methods to fabricate lab-on-a-chip systems for chemical and/or bioengineering applications.
Member of the National Academy of Sciences Member of the Athenian Academy, Greece Tolman Medal, American Chemical Society American Chemical Society Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry Irving Langmuir Prize in Chemical Physics The Cressy-Morrison Science Award in Natural Sciences 1963, PH.D., Cambridge University 1962, M.S., Syracuse University 1958, B.S. Dennison
Picosecond time-resolved x-ray diffraction and EXFAS experiments allow our group to determine the structures of ultrashortlived intermediates in chemical and biological reactions in liquids, while subpicosecond kinetics experiments allow us to probe non-linear phenomena of molecules used for 3D optical storage and electronic switching. We design, synthesize and measure the optical chemical and spectroscopic properties of photochromic molecules that have potential applications in computer storage and optical switching. Energy transfer and excited state decay is probed from cw to subpicosecond time range and the reaction mechanism is deduced based on this data. Non-linear phenomena, including two-photon absorption, reverse saturable absorption, and other non-linear parameters are measured by means of a 2D Z scan and subpicosecond spectroscopy. We have designed and built an experimental system which generates high energy, 150 mJ, 100x10-15 second laser pulses in the 180 nm to 1500 nm spectral range and 5 Kev to 20 Kev, 5x10-12 second intense, x-rays pulses. The laser pulses are used to initiate chemical and biological reactions and generate the x-rays. The structures of the original molecules, their products and intermediates formed in the course of the chemical or biological reaction in solution, are measured by the x-ray pulses. Bond distances have been measured with an accuracy of 0.02A in chemical reactions and biological molecules in solution using ultrafast time-resolved EXAFS and crystal lattice dislocations employing picosecond x-ray diffraction.
Ivan K. Schuller received his Licenciado (1970) from the University of Chile, M.S. degree (1972) and Ph.D. (1976) from Northwestern University. From 1978-1987 he was a Senior Physicist and Group Leader at Argonne National Laboratory. Since 1987 he has been a Professor of Physics at the University of California, San Diego, and in addition to this position, presently is Layer Leader-Materials and Devices of CAL-(IT)2 Institute, and Director-AFOSR-MURI at UCSD. He held visiting professorships at the Catholic University - Santiago, Chile, Universidad del Valle-Cali, Colombia and the Catholic University - Leuven, Belgium.
Novel magnetic devices; preparation and characterization of superlattices; nanostructured magnetism for super-dense memories; nanostructured materials. The thin film group is involved in research in a variety of condensed matter physics problems, developing and studying the structure and properties of novel materials.
The overall objective of Dr. Stupack's laboratory is to understand the basic cell biology associated with the malignant phenotype of neuroblastoma.
Professor Matthew Tirrell received his undergraduate education in Chemical Engineering at Northwestern University and his Ph.D. in 1977 in Polymer Science from the University of Massachusetts. From 1977 to 1999 he was on the faculty of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota, where he served as head of the department from 1995 to 1999. His research has been in polymer surface properties including adsorption, adhesion, surface treatment, friction, lubrication and biocompatibility. He has co-authored about 250 papers and one book and has supervised about 60 Ph.D. students. Professor Tirrell has been a Sloan and a Guggenheim Fellow, a recipient of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award and has received the Allan P. Colburn, Charles Stine and the Professional Progress Awards from AIChE, as well as delivering its Institute Lecture in 2001. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a fellow of the American Physical Society. In 2003, he concluded more than two years of service as co-chair of the steering committee for the National Research Council report "Beyond the Molecular Frontier: Challenges for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering" published by the National Academy Press. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Cottage Health System.
Research is focused on the manipulation and measurement of surface properties of polymers, bringing microscopic measurements of intermolecular forces to bear on polymer surface problems, and new insight into polymer technology particularly in the area of surface modification with amphiphilic polymers and bimolecular materials.
Dr. Nissi Varki completed her MBBS degree in 1974 from Christian Medical College, Vellore, India, one of the foremost medical institutions in South-East Asia. She then completed pathology residencies at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, and at St. Louis, Missouri. She was Board Certified in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology in 1983. She went on to postdoctoral training in tumor immunology, first at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and then at the Research Institute of Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA. In 1984 she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she started her NIH funded research in cancer metastasis. She then moved to her joint appointment in the Departments of Medicine and Pathology at the University of California, San Diego, where she used her funded NIH RO1 grants to continue her work on lung carcinoma metastasis and in developing athymic mouse models of carcinoma metastasis. She also started four histopathology core laboratories, helping investigators analyze genetically altered animals. She is on the School of Medicine Recruitment and Admissions Executive Committee and teaches laboratory sessions for the sophomore SOM 208 Human Disease course. She teaches immunohistochemistry and histopathology during one-on-one sessions with medical and graduate postdoctoral fellows. She also helps students attain histotechnology certification and teaches undergraduate BIO 199 as well as an elective course for graduate and medical students during the fall quarter MED 234 entitled "Practical Histopathology in mouse models of human disease."
Cellular interactions in cancer metastasis, glycans in cancer, inter-species variations in cell surface glycans. Research interests focus on: (1) Analyzing and interpreting the histopathology of genetically altered mice. (2) Defining the role of selectins in tumor metastasis. (3) Working toward an understanding of the uniqueness of human carcinogenesis. (4) Studying the histopathology of antiangiogenic agents in mouse models. (5) Studying immunological mechanisms of gastrointestinal mucosal epithelia.
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Massimo Bottini obtained a MS in Electronic Engineering in 2000, and a PhD in "Sensors and learning systems" in 2003 at the University of Rome "Tor Vergata," Rome, Italy. Since 2003 he is a postdoctoral fellow in Tomas Mustelin's Lab at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, La Jolla, CA. He has authored numerous first-author papers on peer-reviewed international journals and he is ad hoc reviewer for several international journals in the fields of nanotechnology and material science. Massimo Bottini worked on several projects in the fields of nanotechnology and nanomedicine. In particular he focuses on the decoration of carbon nanotubes with metallic, semiconducting and insulating nanoparticles for biosensors and nanoelectronic devices, on the generation of novel carbon nanotube-based nanocomposites for intracellular drug delivery and on some toxicological propertis of carbon nanotubes.
Y.T. Liu is the Director of the Biomarker laboratory of the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. He completed his residency training in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Dr. Liu came to United States and trained to be a molecular biologist. He previously collaborated with Dr. Joseph DeRisi's lab at UCSF in developing a virus-specific DNA microarray (virochip), which led to the identification of SARS virus. Currently he is working with investigators in Nano-tumor Center and UCSD Center for AIDS Research to develop a new method for simultaneously profiling host and viral gene expression in human papillomavirus infected malignant. He is also working on a novel technology for identifying genomic deletions or translocations without the need to isolate cancer cells in primary tumors.
Dr. Liu is interested in a global screening and high throughput approach to study extrinsic (e.g., viruses) and intrinsic (e.g., tumor suppressor genes) factors involved in cancer development, and has been developing novel microarray platforms as tools.
Dr. Messmer primarily studies the molecular and cellular features of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. His research has focused on factors that can drive the leukemic process and potentiate the evolution of a clinically dangerous clone. In collaboration with Drs. Nicholas Chiorazzi (Institute for Medical Research, North Shore-LIJ Health System, Manhassest, New York) and Thomas Kipps (UCSD), Dr. Messmer has identified sets of leukemic patients that have cells that express very similar antigen receptors, suggesting a role for a common antigen. Bioinformatic investigations of the phenomenon are underway. These similar antigen receptors are also under investigation as attractive diagnostic or therapeutic targets. As part of a nanotechology initiative at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center, Dr. Messmer is collaborating with faculty from the Depts. of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Bioengineering, to develop novel cell sensors that can detect and characterize cancer cells in a number of settings. Dr. Messmer collaborates with Dr. Blair and Dr. Kummel on a project that aims at developing a technique for intra-operative analysis of breast cancer margins.
David Vera is presently Professor of Radiology at the University of California, San Diego. His principal focus is the design and synthesis of targeted diagnostic agents capable of measuring receptor density and affinity. Dr Vera began his career at U.C. Davis, where a colloaboration with Drs Kenneth Krohn and Robert Stadalnik produced Tc-99m-galactosyl-neoglycoalbumin, the first technetium-99m labeled receptor-binding radiopharmaceutical and the first to be approved for commercial human-use. Dr Vera's current research uses receptor-binding technology for sentinel node mapping protocol for melanoma, GI, breast, and prostate cancer. The new agent, Tc-99m-DTPA-mannosyl-dextran (also called Lymphoseek), was developed in collaboration with Drs. Carl Hoh and Anne Wallace and is currently in a Phase II multi-center clinical trial for breast cancer and melanoma. In addition to his research, Dr. Vera has been an Editor of Nuclear Medicine and Biology since 1999. Together with Dr William Eckelman, he organized the "Workshop on Receptor-Binding Radiotracers", a biannual DOE/NIH-sponsored symposium to promote the development of molecular imaging agents. In 1984 he received a New Investigator Research Award from the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases. He shared the 1989 Berson-Yalow Award with Drs Robert Stadalnik and Masatoshi Kudo. In 1996 he received the Herbert M. Stauffer Award, also with Robert Stadalnik, from The Association of University Radiologists. 1998-Present, Professor, Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego 1997-1998, Professor, Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis 1993-1997, Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis 1987-1993, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, University of California, Davis 1982-1987, Assistant Research, Biophysicist, Department of Radiology
We have initiated a 4-year project in which we will synthesize and test a new class of blood pool agents for computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Our objective is to develop a new class of imaging agent with the appropriate attributes for detection of tumors and other tissue pathology resulting from abnormal tissue vascularity.
2006-Present, Assistant Project Scientist, NanoTumor center for CCNE program, Moores UCSD cancer center, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 2006-Present, Joint Staff Scientist, the laboratory of Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti, Cancer Research Center, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, La Jolla, CA 2005-2006, Staff Scientist, the laboratory of Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti, Cancer Research Center, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, La Jolla, CA. In collaboration with Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) for Stem Cell research program 2002-2005, Postdoctoral Associate, the laboratory of Dr. Erkki Ruoslahti, Cancer Research Center, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, La Jolla, CA 1998-2002, Postdoctoral Fellow, the laboratory of Dr. Raphael E. Pollock, Department of Surgical Oncology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, TX 1996-1998, Instructor, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China 1990-1993, Pharmacologist, Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China 1996, Ph.D., Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences, Changchun, China 1990, M.S., Wuhan University, Wuhan, China 1987, B.S., Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Dr. Zhang's research interests focus on targeting endothelium in disease especially tumors by utilizing novel nanotechnology approaches. Tumor endothelium including vascular and lymphatic endothelium is essential for tumor growth and metastasis. The key advantage of targeting endothelium is that the endothelial cell surface is readily accessible through the circulation. By using display technology, ligands specifically to target molecules expressing on the tumor endothelium are identified. Such ligands hold great potentials for developing cell- or tissue- specific multifunctional nanoparticles ('magic nanomissiles') for diagnostics and drug delivery. He is also very interested in developing cell-targeted nanoparticles for tracing stem cell lineages and assessing tumorigenicity of stem cells, which are critical for advancing therapeutic use of stem cells in clinic.