Professor, Department of Bioengineering, UC Riverside
Cancer Photo-Theranostics
Abstract
Nano-sized structures provide a platform for the delivery of imaging and therapeutic agents to tumors. When activated by light, these structures enable visualization of small tumor nodules and their destruction through a variety of photo-transduction mechanisms. My lab focuses on the engineering of nano-sized platforms derived from biological materials, including erythrocytes, and their translation for cancer photo-theranostics. In this talk, I will present some of the photophysical properties of these constructs when doped with near infrared chromophores, and show their capabilities in targeted fluorescence molecular imaging of important cancer cell biomarkers and photo-destructions of tumor implants in animal models. I will also discuss some of the considerations necessary for clinical translation of these structures in a safe manner.
Biography
Bahman Anvari is a Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at UC Riverside, and holds courtesy appointments in the Departments of Biochemistry, and Mechanical Engineering, and Biophysics and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Programs at UCR. He received his B.A. in Biophysics from UC Berkeley, and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Texas A&M University. He was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Beckman Laser Institute, and started his faculty career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University where he became an Associate Professor.
Dr. Anvari’s scientific interests include the development and application of optical probes for biomedical imaging and therapeutic purposes. He is a co-inventor on some of the patented technologies related to the dynamic cooling of human skin. His research activities have been continuously funded by NIH, NSF, and other agencies. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed and conference papers. Dr. Anvari served as an Associate Editor for the Annals of Biomedical Engineering for nearly ten years, and is currently an Editorial Board Member of Journal of Biomedical Optics. Professor Anvari is a Fellow of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE). He is the 2019 recipient of the Caroline & William Mark Memorial Award by the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery (ASLMS), and currently serves as the Basic Science Representative at ASLMS Board. Dr. Anvari is the founder of Radoptics, LLC, a start-up company interested in commercialization and translation of cell-derived optical probes.
For more information or to schedule a meeting with the speaker, please contact Hanna Kim.
