News
Honors and Awards
Henry Hirschberg, M.D./Ph.D.
BLI Faculty Researcher and Professor Emeritus of Neurosurgery, University Hospital, Oslo, Norway, Henry Hirschberg, has been awarded three grants. The first two are from the Nevada Cancer Institute Foundation and The Norwegian Radium Hospital Research Foundation for research entitled, "Selective opening of the blood-brain barrier by photochemical internalization." The overall objective of the research is to investigate the utility of photodynamic therapy and photochemical internalization for the treatment of malignant brain tumors (gliomas). The first grant is a collaborative effort with former BLI postdoctoral researcher Steen Madsen, now Associate Professor and Chair of Health Physics at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. The second grant is also a collaborative effort with Dr. Q. Peng, Department of Surgical Oncology, Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
The third grant is from The Norwegian Radium Hospital Research Foundation for "Treatment of malignant brain tumors using viral and non-viral pax6 gene therapy and photochemical internalization." This project is another collaborative effort with the Department of Surgical Oncology, Norwegian Radium Hospital; the Beckman Laser Institute and Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, Irvine; and the Department of Health Physics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Wangcun Jia, Ph.D.
BLI Assistant Project Scientist, Wangcun Jia, has been awarded a 2007 Non-Student Research Grant from the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS) for "A Novel Approach to Port Wine Stain Treatment" using multiple cryogen spurts applied intermittently with multiple laser pulse exposures (MCS-MLP). Port wine stain (PWS) is a congenital, progressive vascular malformation of human skin. The current treatment of choice is single cryogen spurt (for epidermal protection) and single laser pulse exposure. Although this treatment produces some degree of PWS blanching, complete PWS removal is rare because large vessels can only be partially coagulated due to inadequate heating. MLP has the potential to induce complete coagulation of large blood vessels when heat generated by previous pulses accumulates in the vessel while the MCS actively maintains the epidermal temperature below the damage threshold. The primary purpose of the ASLMS Research Grant Program is to support research which can be applied to medical and surgical care of patients.
Brian Wong, M.D./Ph.D.
For the second consecutive year, Dr. Wong has been selected as one of the Top Doctors in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery in Orange County, which will appear in the January 2008 issue of Orange Coast magazine. Physicians in the "Top Doctors" listing are chosen on an annual basis by a selection committee who reviews nominations for the Orange County Medical Association.s Physicians of Excellence program. Nominees must meet at least seven criteria, including demonstrating physician leadership, involvement in physician education, and possession of unique skills within the field of nomination.
Marlon Mathews, Ph.D.
OCTANe's Foundation for Innovation has given its inaugural $20,000 Innovation Award to UCI postdoctoral student, Marlon Mathews. Mathews' research has led to the development of a device that can be safely inserted into the brain's blood vessels for imaging procedures. In addition to the money, Mathews receives a year's membership in OCTANe and business coaching and mentoring through the organization's LaunchPad program. Dr. Mathews conducts his research in biomedical optics and neurosurgery at UCI's Department of Neurological Surgery and the Beckman Laser Institute.
The Innovation Award was established to recognize individuals who have developed an innovative idea, design, patent, product or discovery that serves as a strong example of the region's strength in biomedical or information technologies. The foundation received 41 proposals from 14 university researchers and 27 startups in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego counties. "Our hope is to increase public awareness of science and technology developed within Orange County and the surrounding region and to provide training and educational opportunities for researchers and entrepreneurs to bring their innovations to market," says Gary Augusta, head of both OCTANe and its foundation. The award was announced during OCTANe's 2007 Medical Device Conference held on November 15 in Costa Mesa.