Workshops

LESTER WOLFE WORKSHOP IN LASER BIOMEDICINE

Molecular tools in diagnostic medicine: The opportunity for biomedical optics

Recent ground-breaking progress in cell and molecular biology has resulted in tremendous advances in understanding the molecular underpinnings of human diseases. These discoveries have given rise to the new discipline of molecular diagnostics that continues to revolutionize the practice of diagnostic pathology and in vivo imaging. In parallel, the development of targeted therapies against specific molecular markers has generated additional demands for molecular-specific characterization of cells and tissues. This workshop will introduce the participants to the current challenges and opportunities in molecular diagnostics, with special emphasis on the contribution of optical and spectroscopic methods.

State-of-the-art in molecular diagnostics 
John Iafrate, Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School

Flip-flopping contrast mechanisms in optical imaging
Samuel Achilefu, Washington University School of Medicine

Molecular pathology with mid-infrared chemical imaging
Rohit Bhargava, Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois

Imaging of molecular assemblies for cancer detection, monitoring and therapy: A plasmonic approach
Konstantin Sokolov, University of Texas at Austin

Tuesday, November 25, 2008, 3:30-6:00 PM
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Grier Room, 34-401
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

Refreshments served at 3:00 PM

Sponsored by the George R. Harrison Spectroscopy Laboratory, MGH Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, and Center for the Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology (CIMIT)