Professional Overview
Stanford Advisors
| Irving Weissman: | Med Scholar Project Advisor |
Education History
| Bachelor of Engineering: | Carleton University, Electrical Engineering (2003) |
| Doctor of Philosophy: | University of Toronto, Biomedical Engineering (2008) |
Honors and Awards
- Graduate Student Award, National Cancer Institute of Canada (2008)
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
Current research interests focus on the development of novel imaging modalities to track and monitor HSC development within the mouse bone marrow. In particular, we are interested in utilizing intravital multiphoton microscopy techniques to study the interaction of bone marrow stromal with transplanted HSCs and analyze the functional characteristics of stem cell niche. We believe that the understanding of normal physiological processes involved in stem cell renewal, differentiation and maintenance can provide important insights into the functional and developmental traits of cancer stem cells, which would allow us to engineer unique therapeutic strategies to specifically target this cell population. In addition, my research interests also focus on engineering novel classes of optical, magnetic and electronically based nanosensors for bioimaging and detection applications. For example, solution based synthesis of semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots), metallic nanoparticles and hybrid polymeric nanocomposites are currently been investigated. These nanoparticles will be applied to various biomedical and biological applications including live cell imaging, in vivo cell labeling/tracking, monitoring of membrane receptor dynamics and ex-vivo tissue and cell immunofluorescent staining, which would provide us with the ability to monitor dynamic cellular processes that extend far beyond the capabilities offered by existing methods. I am also interested in examining the ability of tuning the physical properties of nanostructures to functionally control cell fate with applications to study stem cell function and possibly new treatment options to target cancer stem cells. Finally, my research also looks at the pathophysiology of vasculature development with particular interest in tumor angiogenesis. One current project which I was involved at Harvard Medical School aimed to investigate the role of vascular normalization on the delivery of nanoparticle based contrast agents into orthotopically implanted breast carcinomas and gliomas. We believe that by normalizing the tumor vasculature, we can improve the delivery efficiency of nanoparticle carriers into solid tumors thus providing a novel combination treatment option that would enhancs the cancer cell killing benefits of existing drugs.
Research Projects
Publications
- Multistage nanoparticle delivery system for deep penetration into tumor tissue. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; (6): 2426-31
- Compact biocompatible quantum dots via RAFT-mediated synthesis of imidazole-based random copolymer ligand. J Am Chem Soc. 2010; (2): 472-83
- Biodegradable quantum dot nanocomposites enable live cell labeling and imaging of cytoplasmic targets. Nano Lett. 2008; (11): 3887-92
- Nanoparticle-mediated cellular response is size-dependent. Nat Nanotechnol. 2008; (3): 145-50
- Advances and challenges of nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems. Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2007; (6): 621-33
- Assessing near-infrared quantum dots for deep tissue, organ, animal imaging Journal of the Association of Laboratory Automation. 2007: 6-12
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