Ph.D. Thesis Defense - Monitoring Angiogenesis and Anti-Angiogenic Therapy In Vivo Using Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound
Date: August 17, 2006
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Bossone Research Enterprise Center, Room: 708
Speaker(s):
Raymond Jinhyun Ro
Advisors: Flemming Forsberg, Ph.D. and Peter Lewin, Ph.D.
Details:
Tumor angiogenesis is the development of a new vascular network out of preexisting vessels. This process is essential in the development, growth, and survival of tumors. Numerous growth factors play a role in angiogenesis. Anti-angiogenesis research is a burgeoning field focused on the treatment of cancers by blocking the mechanism of angiogenic growth factors. The development of antiangiogenic agents and the clinical evaluation of antiangiogenic therapy have stimulated interest in noninvasive imaging methods to monitor response. Thus, the key to the advancement of antiangiogenic therapy is not only in the discovery of new drugs and treatments, but also in the development of methods to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of novel antiangiogenic therapies using a low-cost, noninvasive, and readily available imaging technique.
This research project investigates contrast enhanced ultrasound as a noninvasive and quantitative method for evaluating tumor angiogenesis in vivo. The effects of antiangiogenic therapy are also monitored using contrast enhanced ultrasound and compared with assessments of tumor vascularity by immunohistochemical examination. Studies in this project show that contrast enhanced ultrasound is a promising tool for the noninvasive monitoring of tumor angiogenesis and the effects of antiangiogenic agents on tumor vascularity in vivo, and may one day be used as a standard imaging method to evaluate cancer therapies in patients.
Biosketch:
Directions:
The Bossone Research Enterprise Center is located at the corner of 32nd and Market Streets.
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