CAREER: Optical Spectroscopy and Imaging for Understanding the Interrelation of Molecular and Ultrastructural Changes in Neoplastic Cells and Early Cancer Detection

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

0238903 Backman Under this CAREER award, the advances of optical spectroscopy and imaging will be bridged to those of molecular biology to investigate the dynamics of the alterations of the organization of epithelial cells undergoing precancerous and early cancerous transformations. A novel spectroscopic imaging technique that utilizes light elastically scattered by living epithelial cells and enables quantitative characterization of the cell and tissue micro- and nano-architecture without tissue processing will be developed. This technique will be applied to correlate the ultrastructural and morphological changes in the living epithelial cells with specific molecular events associated with the development of neoplasia, to establish how the cell organization and molecular events are interrelated and affect the development of cancer, and to evaluate the usefulness of these findings for the purposes of the detection and diagnosis of precancerous and early cancerous transformations in the colon. In these studies, experimental model of colon carcinogenesis (azoxymethane-treated rats) and human tissues will be utilized. To enable the development of the light scattering spectroscopic imaging, realistic analytical and numerical models of light scattering by inhomogeneous tissue structures will be developed, and the origins of light scattering signatures in the living epithelial cells will be identified. One of the long-term outcomes of this project would be the development of a novel optical technique to risk-stratify patients for colon neoplasia and to non-invasively diagnose colon and, potentially, other types of cancer. The objective of the educational plan is to integrate the traditional engineering and physical aspects of the medical imaging curriculum with these of the contemporary biology and medicine. To achieve this goal, an innovative component of the medical imaging curriculum will be developed. This component will consist of three new integrative interdisciplinary courses: Optical Imaging and Microscopy, Advanced Physical Optics, and Clinical Experience in Medical Imaging. The curriculum will bridge the physical and engineering principles with the biological and clinical applications of optical imaging and other imaging modalities. Furthermore, students will learn how the medical imaging is used in clinical practice by rotating through various clinical sub-specialties where medical imaging is extensively used.