Jones Seminar: Fluorescence Molecular Imaging for Improving Clinical Experience and Patient Outcomes in Oncology

Optional ZOOM LINK
Meeting ID: 962 3557 9087
Passcode: 651327

Imaging medicine provides the unique opportunity for the real-time visualization of molecular, physiological, and/or structural information of a patient's tissue in situ. This is especially important for imaging cancer, which is a highly heterogeneous disease differing not only between cancers of different organs but also within cancers of the same type. Due to this high variability, there has been a large push towards "personalized medicine" where treatment planning for individuals is based on knowledge gained from imaging or "bench" testing. However, there is still a significant knowledge gap between simplistic bench models and the successful translation of therapy with lasting positive outcomes in a human patient. 

To address this need, our research focuses on the development of quantitative imaging methodologies to visualize the molecular- and cellular-spatial dynamics of individual patient's disease to improve:

1. tissue (normal and diseased) detection;
2. treatment planning; and/or
3. monitoring treatment response.

Here, I will discuss the major advances we have made in quantitative tissue detection, diagnostic visualization, and depth prediction during surgical resection of primary tumors. Additionally, I will discuss our more recent forays into imaging molecular therapies, including in situ receptor occupancy and protein-protein interactions. Overarchingly, we aim to develop novel methodologies that span the bench-to-bed side barrier and increase the understanding of disease detection and therapy within the clinic. 

Hosted by Professor Keith Paulsen.

About the Speaker(s)

Kim Samkoe
Associate Professor of Engineering, Dartmouth

Kim Samkoe graduated from the University of Regina, SK in 2001 with a BScHons in biochemistry and a minor in mathematics. She completed her PhD at the University of Calgary, AB in biophysical chemistry, where she was both an NSERC-eMPOWR Scholar and an Alberta Ingenuity Fellow. Her thesis research focused on developing multiphoton excitation photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration. In 2007, Samkoe came to Dartmouth as a post-doctoral fellow in medical imaging for monitoring and predicting response of pancreatic cancer to PDT. During this time, she also began to explore fluorescence molecular imaging for cancer detection. She joined the Department of Surgery at Geisel School of Medicine as an assistant professor in 2011, and in 2020 joined Thayer as an associate professor.

Contact

For more information, contact Ashley Parker at ashley.l.parker@dartmouth.edu.