NIH-NSF BBSI HST-MGH Summer Institute for Biomedical Optics

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

PROPOSAL NO.: 0234108 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Martha Gray INSTITUTION NAME: MIT TITLE: NIH-NSF BBSI HST-MGH Summer Institute for Biomedical Optics ABSTRACT The HST-MGH Summer Institute will focus on introducing students to Biomedical Optics, the use of light in biology and medicine, to advance our understanding of biology and pathophysiology and to create effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The Summer Institute, hosted jointly by the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) and The Wellman Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), is designed in accordance with the following objectives: To introduce students to the interdisciplinary nature of bioengineering research To introduce students to the technologies associated with Biomedical Optics and provide an understanding of its strengths and limitations To introduce students to current and envisioned biological and medical applications of Biomedical Optics The didactic program is based on HST and MGH/Wellman program elements that are already in place, and will provide the students with both depth in biomedical optics, and breadth in bioengineering more generally. These include: A formal course on biomedical optics Tutorial lectures on the role of light in medicine and biology An ongoing research lecture series on in Photomedicine An ongoing seminar series by the Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology (CIMIT), which deals more broadly with the use of bioengineering techniques ranging from tissue engineering to image-guided therapy, and will provide a broad view of current research at sites both inside and beyond MGH. Weekly meetings of the research groups into which students are placed. A research skills module designed to help students plan their research and communicate their results orally and in writing. Bioethics module designed to teach students to identify the ethical considerations of their research. Students in the program will work on research projects in the following areas: Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) Optical Coherence Tomography In vivo confocal microscopy and multi-photon microscopy Selective Laser targeting to treat diseases involving the retinal pigment epithelium Diffuse Optical Tomography imaging of stroke, hemorrhage, brain function, and breast cancer Improved Microscopy for Surgical Pathology Video microscopy for Biological Micromechanics