{"65119":{"#nid":"65119","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Bird Embryo Provides Unique Insights into Developmental Phenomena","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAvian embryos could join the list of model organisms used to study a specific type of cell migration called epiboly, thanks to the results of a study published this month in the journal \u003Cem\u003EDevelopmental Dynamics\u003C\/em\u003E. The new study provides insights into the mechanisms of epiboly, a developmental process involving mass movement of cells as a sheet, which is linked with medical conditions that include wound healing and cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe study, published online on March 15, explains how epithelial cells expand as a sheet and migrate to engulf the entire avian egg yolk as it grows. It also reveals the presence of certain molecules during this process that have not been previously reported in other major developmental models, including Xenopus frogs and zebrafish.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022These molecules and mechanisms of early development in the avian embryo may demonstrate evolutionary differences across species in the collective movement of epithelial cells and motivate additional studies of avian embryo development,\u0022 said Evan Zamir, an assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMatt Futterman, who worked on the project as a graduate student at Georgia Tech, and mechanical engineering professor Andr\u00e9s Garc\u00eda also contributed to this study. The research was funded by Zamir\u0027s new faculty support from Georgia Tech and by a grant to Garc\u00eda from the National Institutes of Health.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the study, the researchers conducted immunofluorescence and high-resolution confocal microscopy experiments to examine the spatial distribution and expression of five proteins -- vimentin, cytokeratin, \u03b2-catenin, E-cadherin and laminin -- as cells moved to wrap the yolk sac of quail embryos during development.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe results showed that during this process, four of the proteins -- vimentin, cytokeratin, \u03b2-catenin and E-cadherin -- appeared in the cells located at the free edge of the migrating cell sheet. Finding dense interconnected networks of both vimentin and cytokeratin in the edge cells surprised the researchers.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Since cytokeratin is generally associated with the epithelial phenotype and vimentin is generally associated with the mesenchymal phenotype, it\u0027s rare to see them expressed in the same cells, but this does occur in metastasizing tumor cells,\u0022 said Zamir.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECells expressing the mesenchymal phenotype are typically found in connective tissues -- such as bone, cartilage, and the lymphatic and circulatory systems -- whereas cells of the epithelial phenotype are found in cavities and glands and on surfaces throughout the body.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis finding provides evidence that epithelial cells normally attached to a membrane surface underwent biochemical changes that enabled them to assume a mesenchymal cell phenotype, which enhanced their migratory capacity. This process, called partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, has many similarities to the initiation of tumor cell metastasis and wound healing.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESince this epithelial and mesenchymal expression pattern in the edge cells has not previously been reported in Xenopus or zebrafish, it may be unique to the avian embryo. This discovery would make the avian embryo a valuable model for studying tumor cell migration and wound healing.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to detailing protein expression in the quail embryo during development, the researchers also determined the origin of the new cells required at the migrating edge to cover the growing yolk. During development, the radius of the quail yolk doubles every day for the first few days, representing a hundreds-fold increase in the egg yolk surface area. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022For each individual cell that has to cover the egg yolk as it grows, the migration around the yolk is extraordinary, because it\u0027s such a large territory -- it would be like an ant walking across the earth,\u0022 explained Zamir.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELooking more closely at the edge cells, the researchers found strong evidence that expansion of the edge cell population was due exclusively to cells relocating from an interior region to the edge as the embryo expanded. The cells located at the free edge generated the bulk of the traction force necessary for expansion and towed the cells within the interior of the epithelium.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022These experiments confirm that edge cell proliferation is not the primary mechanism for expansion of the edge cell population,\u0022 noted Zamir. \u0022And our observation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in the edge cells explains how these epithelial cells might be changing phenotype to become migratory in this rapidly expanding sheet.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo determine if this study\u0027s findings are indeed unique to the avian embryo, Zamir plans to conduct further studies to characterize protein expression and cell migration in Xenopus and zebrafish.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364) or John Toon (jtoon@gatech.edu; 404-894-6986)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Study Investigates Process Involved in Cancer and Wound Healing"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAvian embryos could become model organisms used to study a specific type of cell migration called epiboly, a developmental process involving mass movement of cells as a sheet that is linked with medical conditions that include wound healing and cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Bird embryos provide insights into cancer and wound healing."}],"uid":"27206","created_gmt":"2011-03-23 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:26","author":"Abby Vogel Robinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-03-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-03-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"65120":{"id":"65120","type":"image","title":"Quail eggs","body":null,"created":"1449176801","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:06:41","changed":"1475894574","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:54","alt":"Quail eggs","file":{"fid":"192170","name":"trq14296.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/trq14296_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/trq14296_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":36918,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/trq14296_0.jpg?itok=2dG6htBG"}},"65121":{"id":"65121","type":"image","title":"vimentin expression","body":null,"created":"1449176801","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:06:41","changed":"1475894574","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:54","alt":"vimentin expression","file":{"fid":"192171","name":"ttm10064.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ttm10064_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ttm10064_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":412574,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ttm10064_0.jpg?itok=dsAbHQqe"}},"65122":{"id":"65122","type":"image","title":"BrDU cell proliferation","body":null,"created":"1449176801","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:06:41","changed":"1475894574","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:54","alt":"BrDU cell proliferation","file":{"fid":"192172","name":"tqj10240.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tqj10240_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tqj10240_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":811391,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tqj10240_0.jpg?itok=Z2FH5tCE"}}},"media_ids":["65120","65121","65122"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1002\/dvdy.22607","title":"Developmental Dynamics paper"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/zamir.shtml","title":"Evan Zamir"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/garcia.shtml","title":"Andres Garcia"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/","title":"George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"539","name":"Andres Garcia"},{"id":"4619","name":"avian"},{"id":"12460","name":"avian embryo"},{"id":"12467","name":"b-catenin"},{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"12466","name":"cytokeratin"},{"id":"351","name":"development"},{"id":"12471","name":"Developmental Biology"},{"id":"12468","name":"e-cadherin"},{"id":"9228","name":"embryo"},{"id":"12472","name":"Embryo Development"},{"id":"12464","name":"epiboly"},{"id":"12459","name":"Evan Zamir"},{"id":"12469","name":"Laminin"},{"id":"10364","name":"Metastasis"},{"id":"12461","name":"Quail"},{"id":"12462","name":"quail embryo"},{"id":"167377","name":"School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"12470","name":"tumor cell migration"},{"id":"12465","name":"vimentin"},{"id":"12463","name":"Wound Healing"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbby Robinson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News and Publications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=avogel6\u0022\u003EContact Abby Robinson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-3364\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["abby@innovate.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"62118":{"#nid":"62118","#data":{"type":"news","title":"\u0022SpectroPen\u0022 Could Aid Surgeons in Detecting Edges of Tumors","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBiomedical engineers are developing a hand-held device called a SpectroPen that could help surgeons see the edges of tumors in human patients in real time during surgery.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScientists at Emory University School of Medicine, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Pennsylvania described the device in an article published this week in the journal \u003Cem\u003EAnalytical Chemistry\u003C\/em\u003E.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhat a patient with a tumor wants to know after surgery can be expressed succinctly: \u0022Did you get everything?\u0022 Statistics indicate that complete removal, or resection, is the single most important predictor of patient survival for most solid tumors.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This technology could allow a surgeon to directly visualize where the tumors are, in real time. In addition, a post-surgery scan could check tumor margins,\u0022 said Shuming Nie, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. \u0022A major challenge is to completely remove the tumor as well as identify lymph nodes that may be involved.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe SpectroPen can be used to detect fluorescent dyes, and also scattered light from tiny gold particles, a technology that Nie and his colleagues have been refining. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe particles consist of polymer-coated gold, coupled to a reporter dye and an antibody that sticks to molecules on the outsides of tumor cells more than it sticks to normal cells. Through an effect called surface-enhanced Raman scattering, the gold in the particle greatly amplifies the signal from the reporter dye. Nie and his team have been able to show that the particles can detect tumors smaller than one millimeter grafted into rodents. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe SpectroPen combines a near-infrared laser and a detector for fluorescence or scattered light. It is connected by a fiber optic cable to a spectrometer that can record fluorescence and Raman signals.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the \u003Cem\u003EAnalytical Chemistry\u003C\/em\u003E paper, the researchers used the pen to detect the dye indocyanine green, infused intravenously into mice with implanted human breast cancer cells. The dye accumulates at a higher rate in tumor cells because of the leaky blood vessels and membranes surrounding tumors. The SpectroPen\u2019s signal from the tumor is ten times higher than from normal tissue. Indocyanine green has been approved by the FDA for purposes such as measuring cardiac output and liver function.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe cancer cells had a gene from fireflies added, so that tumors glow after the mice are given a \u0022luciferin\u0022 solution. This allowed the scientists to check that the outline of the tumor seen through the SpectroPen matched the glow.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our in vivo studies demonstrate that the tumor borders can be precisely detected preoperatively and intraoperatively, and that the contrast signals are strongly correlated with tumor bioluminescence,\u0022 Nie said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the laboratory, the fluorescence and Raman signals are resolvable when the nanoparticles are buried 5-10 mm deep in fresh animal tissues. However, the gold nanoparticles are 40 to 50 times more sensitive than fluorescent dyes.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFuture plans include in vivo tests of the nanoparticle contrast agents, along with the SpectroPen.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research was carried out by an interdisciplinary team of senior investigators including May Wang, Coulter Department at Georgia Tech and Emory University; Sunil Singhal, University of Pennsylvania; and James Provenzale and Brian Leyland-Jones, Emory University. They are developing an integrated spectroscopic and wide-field color imaging system for image-guided surgery and cancer detection during surgery using animal models.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EProvenzale and surgeons at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine are currently using this device to operate on dogs with naturally occurring tumors. Singhal, who is director of the Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, is applying to conduct clinical trials involving patients with lung cancer. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research was supported by a Grand Opportunities (GO) grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the NIH Director\u2019s Office, and by the NCI Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) at Emory and Georgia Tech.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Georgia Tech -- Abby Vogel Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364); Emory University -- Holly Korschun, (hkorsch@emory.edu; 404-727-3990)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Emory University\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Biomedical engineers are developing a hand-held device called a SpectroPen that could help surgeons see the edges of tumors in human patients in real time during surgery.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The device was described in the journal Analytical Chemistry."}],"uid":"27206","created_gmt":"2010-10-11 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:05:38","author":"Abby Vogel Robinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-10-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-10-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"62119":{"id":"62119","type":"image","title":"SpectroPen","body":null,"created":"1449176355","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:59:15","changed":"1475894481","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:21","alt":"SpectroPen","file":{"fid":"191403","name":"tsc25741.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tsc25741_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tsc25741_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":31142,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tsc25741_0.jpg?itok=4Pc6wh4e"}}},"media_ids":["62119"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1021\/ac102058k","title":"Analytical Chemistry paper"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=40","title":"Shuming Nie"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"10941","name":"fluorescent dye"},{"id":"170953","name":"SpectroPen"},{"id":"1442","name":"tumor"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EAbby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News and Publications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=avogel6\u0022\u003EContact Abby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-3364\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["abby@innovate.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"61102":{"#nid":"61102","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Gibson receives grant for study of childhood cancer","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EProfessor Greg Gibson (Biology) has received a 1 year pilot grant from the AFLAC Cancer Center for \u201cGenomic profiling of late outcomes in survivors of childhood cancer\u0022. The study involves a collaboration with Drs. Ann Mertens and Karen Wasilewski in the Department of Hematology\/Oncology at Emory University, and Dr. Ken Brigham, Director of the Center for Health Discovery and Well Being (CHDWB) at Emory. The objective of the project is to use a systems biology approach to try to understand why so many survivors of early childhood cancers begin to have a range of serious health problems as they reach adulthood, and to see if the CHDWB health care model might be an effective intervention. More information about the Emory childhood cancer survivor program can be found at \u003Ca href=\u0027http:\/\/www.choa.org\/default.aspx?id=399\u0027\u003Ehttp:\/\/www.choa.org\/default.aspx?id=399\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Professor Greg Gibson (Biology) has received a 1 year pilot grant from the AFLAC Cancer Center for \u201cGenomic profiling of late outcomes in survivors of childhood cancer\u0022.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Gibson receives grant for study of childhood cancer"}],"uid":"27349","created_gmt":"2010-09-13 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:27","author":"Floyd Wood","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-08-31T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-08-31T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10686","name":"AFLAC"},{"id":"277","name":"Biology"},{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"10645","name":"Greg Gibson"},{"id":"248","name":"IBB"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESchool Biology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESchool of Biology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:biology@biology.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EContact School Biology\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-3700\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["biology@biology.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"60398":{"#nid":"60398","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Initial Trials on New Ovarian Cancer Tests Exhibit Extremely High Accuracy","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have attained very promising results on their initial investigations of a new test for ovarian cancer. Using a new technique involving mass spectrometry of a single drop of blood serum, the test correctly identified women with ovarian cancer in 100 percent of the patients tested. The results can be found online in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, \u0026amp; Prevention Research. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cBecause ovarian cancer is a disease of relatively low prevalence, it\u2019s essential that tests for it be extremely accurate. We believe we may have developed such a test,\u201d said John McDonald, chief research scientist at the Ovarian Cancer Institute (Atlanta) and professor of biology at Georgia Tech.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe measurement step in the test, developed by the research group of Facundo Fernandez, associate professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Tech, uses a single drop of blood serum, which is vaporized by hot helium plasma. As the molecules from the serum become electrically charged, a mass spectrometer is used to measure their relative abundance. The test looks at the small molecules involved in metabolism that are in the serum, known as metabolites. Machine learning techniques developed by Alex Gray, assistant professor in the College of Computing and the Center for the Study of Systems Biology, were then used to sort the sets of metabolites that were found in cancerous plasma from the ones found in healthy samples. Then, McDonald\u2019s lab mapped the results between the metabolites found in both sets of tissue to discover the biological meaning of these metabolic changes. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe assay did extremely well in initial tests involving 94 subjects. In addition to being able to generate results using only a drop of blood serum, the test proved to be 100 percent accurate in distinguishing sera from women with ovarian cancer from normal controls. In addition it registered neither a single false positive nor a false negative\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe group is currently in the midst of conducting the next set of assays, this time with 500 patients. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u201cThe caveat is we don\u2019t currently have 500 patients with the same type of ovarian cancer, so we\u2019re going to look at other types of ovarian cancer,\u201d said Fernandez. \u201cIt\u2019s possible that there are also signatures for other cancers, not just ovarian, so we\u2019re also going to be using the same approach to look at other types of cancers. We\u2019ll be working with collaborators in Atlanta and elsewhere.\u201d\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn addition to having a relatively low prevalence ovarian cancer is also asymptomatic in the early stages. Therefore, if further testing confirms the ability to accurately detect ovarian cancer by analyzing metabolites in the serum of women, doctors will be able detect the disease early and save many lives.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have attained very promising results on their initial investigations of a new test for ovarian cancer. Using a new technique involving mass spectrometry of a single drop of blood serum, the test correctly identified women with ovarian cancer in 100 percent of the patients tested.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Using a new technique, the test correctly indentified women with ovarian cancer in 100 percent of the patients tested."}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2010-08-11 08:26:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:15","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"3607","name":"Fernandez"},{"id":"7184","name":"gray"},{"id":"281","name":"mcdonald"},{"id":"387","name":"ovarian"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"60385":{"#nid":"60385","#data":{"type":"news","title":"NIH EUREKA Award Will Enable Design of New Brain Tumor Treatment","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology has received a EUREKA grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to design a new way to treat invasive brain tumors by capturing the migrating cells that spread the disease. The EUREKA -- Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration -- program helps scientists test new, unconventional ideas or tackle major methodological or technical challenges. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe research team plans to develop a system that will excavate brain tumor cells by directing them away from their location in the interior of the brain to a more external location where they can be removed or killed. Nanofiber-based polymer thin films coated with biochemical cues will be aligned in the brain to provide a corridor for tumor cells to follow to a gel-based \u2018sink\u2019 where they will be captured and safely removed or encouraged to die through chemical signaling. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe believe this is the first attempt to exploit the invasive, migrating properties of brain tumors by engineering a path for the tumors to move away from the primary site to a location where treatment can occur,\u201d said lead investigator Ravi Bellamkonda, a professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECollaborating with Bellamkonda on this project are Tobey MacDonald, director of the pediatric neuro-oncology program at the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta and an associate professor of pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine; and Barun Brahma, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta. The initial partnership between the researchers began with seed funding from the Georgia Cancer Coalition and Ian\u2019s Friends Foundation. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe National Cancer Institute is providing more than $1 million for the EUREKA grant. For the project, Bellamkonda, MacDonald and Brahma are focusing on treating medulloblastomas -- highly malignant brain tumors that account for more than 20 percent of pediatric brain tumors. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMedulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor we see in children, but unfortunately the five-year survival rates for children with this cancer only range from 50 to 70 percent and the majority of survivors have a significantly reduced quality of life as a result of treatment-related toxicities,\u201d said MacDonald, who is also a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar. \u201cAn increasing number of survivors are also at risk for developing secondary malignancies as a result of the treatment we now administer. Clearly we have to do a much better job at treating these tumors; however, improving survival while reducing the toxic effects of treatment will require a highly innovative approach.\u201d\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMedulloblastoma treatment currently involves surgery followed by radiation therapy to the entire brain and spine and up to one year of intensive intravenous chemotherapy. However, radiation is often delayed or omitted altogether in young children due to its debilitating long-term side effects on the developing central nervous system. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThese changes to the timing of radiation administration can adversely impact survival. And while surgery is a mainstay of treatment, it too can cause a significant loss of cognitive and neurological function due to the critical areas of the brain that may be involved by the tumor\u2019s spread but require an extensive surgical area to remove as much of the tumor as possible.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThis EUREKA grant aims to address the urgent need to develop therapies to safely treat invasive medulloblastomas in children.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur plan is to deliver the tumor to the drug -- by directing tumor cells to a specially engineered gel that can be removed or designed to kill the cells -- rather than the current strategy of delivering the drug to the tumor, which is problematic due to the irregular vasculature and poor diffusivity of the tumor tissue,\u201d explained Bellamkonda, who is also a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar.  \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers plan to design a polymer thin film system that will include topographical and biochemical cues similar to those that guide the initial brain tumor invasion. The thin films will be rolled up and deployed with minimally invasive catheters. Because neural tissue will not be suctioned and the films are very thin, there should be minimal tissue and tumor disruption.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe films will also be non-toxic to the patient because they will be engineered with biocompatible, stable polymers. In previous studies, the polymers have been implanted in the nervous systems of small animals for more than 16 weeks with no adverse tissue reactions. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis research represents a radical approach to treating invasive tumors that is based on the universal properties and mechanics of cell motility and the migration characteristic of metastasis, regardless of the molecular and genetic origins of the tumor,\u201d added Bellamkonda. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIf successful, this approach would identify a new and innovative way to treat pediatric medulloblastomas and has the potential to open a new avenue for the treatment of other invasive solid tumors, such as brain stem tumors. These cancers are incurable because they are located in an inoperable region and\/or they are resistant or inaccessible to the delivery of chemotherapy agents.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\n\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\n\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Vogel Robinson (404-385-3364; \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:abby@innovate.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eabby@innovate.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or John Toon (404-894-6986; \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"$1M grant awarded to Coulter Department professor Ravi Bellamkonda"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology has received a EUREKA grant from the National Cancer Institute to design a new way to treat invasive brain tumors by capturing the migrating cells that spread the disease.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"NIH grant awarded to Coulter Department professor Ravi Bellamkonda."}],"uid":"27206","created_gmt":"2010-08-10 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:15","author":"Abby Vogel Robinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-08-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-08-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"60386":{"id":"60386","type":"image","title":"Ravi Bellamkonda","body":null,"created":"1449176267","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:57:47","changed":"1475894523","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:03","alt":"Ravi Bellamkonda","file":{"fid":"191114","name":"tej47110.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tej47110_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tej47110_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":969293,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tej47110_0.jpg?itok=lDBLGm6V"}},"60387":{"id":"60387","type":"image","title":"Ravi Bellamkonda","body":null,"created":"1449176267","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:57:47","changed":"1475894523","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:03","alt":"Ravi Bellamkonda","file":{"fid":"191115","name":"tft47110.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tft47110_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tft47110_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":939228,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tft47110_0.jpg?itok=2sdKFNeV"}},"60388":{"id":"60388","type":"image","title":"Ravi Bellamkonda","body":null,"created":"1449176267","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:57:47","changed":"1475894523","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:03","alt":"Ravi Bellamkonda","file":{"fid":"191116","name":"tbc47110.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tbc47110_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tbc47110_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1538338,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tbc47110_0.jpg?itok=Hd_1iQEv"}}},"media_ids":["60386","60387","60388"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=59","title":"Ravi Bellamkonda"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10365","name":"Brain Tumor"},{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"8084","name":"Cancer treatment"},{"id":"10366","name":"Medulloblastoma"},{"id":"10364","name":"Metastasis"},{"id":"10367","name":"Pediatric Brain Tumor"},{"id":"10368","name":"polymer films"},{"id":"1442","name":"tumor"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News and Publications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=avogel6\u0022\u003EContact Abby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-3364\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["abby@innovate.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"57713":{"#nid":"57713","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Technique Detects Enzyme Implicated in Cancer, Atherosclerosis","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAn enzyme implicated in osteoporosis, arthritis, atherosclerosis and cancer metastasis -- cathepsin K -- eluded reliable detection in laboratory experiments in the past. Now, a research team at the Georgia Institute of Technology has developed an assay that reliably detects and quantifies mature cathepsin K using a technique called gelatin zymography. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This assay is important because researchers and pharmaceutical companies need a dependable method for sensitively detecting a small amount of cathepsin K and quantifying its activity to develop inhibitors to the enzyme that can fight the diseases while minimizing side effects,\u0022 said Manu Platt, an assistant professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECathepsin K is required to maintain adequate calcium levels in the body, but it can be highly destructive because it has the ability to break down bone by degrading collagen and elastin. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPlatt described the cathepsin K detection protocol in the June issue of the journal \u003Cem\u003EAnalytical Biochemistry\u003C\/em\u003E. This research was funded by new faculty support from Georgia Tech, and the Facilitating Academic Careers in Engineering and Science Scholars (FACES) and Summer Undergraduate Research in Engineering (SURE) programs at Georgia Tech. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe benefits of this assay over existing techniques are numerous, according to Platt. The major advantage of this protocol, he said, is the definitive knowledge that mature cathepsin K is being detected in cells and tissues -- and not its immature form or one of the other 10 cathepsin varieties: B, H, L, S, C, O, F, V, X or W. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother advantage of this technique is that it is more sensitive and less expensive than current, less reliable techniques. The new assay allows cathepsin K to be detected in quantities as small as a few femtomoles and does not require antibodies, which can be expensive and cannot be used across different species. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022In our experiments we were able to detect mature cathepsin K activity in quantities as small as 3.45 femtomoles with zymography, which was 10 to 50 times more sensitive at detecting the enzyme than conventional Western blotting,\u0022 noted Platt, who is also a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition, zymography allowed the researchers to measure the activity of the enzyme, whereas Western blotting just measured its presence. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo detect mature cathepsin K with gelatin zymography, Platt and Georgia Tech undergraduate student Weiwei Li first separated the enzymes present in cells by their molecular weights. This allowed them to distinguish the mature form of cathepsin K from the immature form and other cathepsin varieties. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen, to verify the identity and presence of mature cathepsin K, the team activated the enzymes in the gel. They created the perfect acidic environment for cathepsin K to thrive and added inhibitors to block the activity of all enzymes except mature cathepsin K. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo validate the cathepsin K activity detected in the laboratory experiments, Platt and Georgia Tech undergraduate student Zachary Barry developed a computational kinetic model of the enzyme\u0027s activity. By solving a system of differential equations, they were able to calculate the concentrations of immature, mature and inactive cathepsin K present at all times during the experimental procedure. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It is more challenging to work with enzymes than proteins because enzymes have to be functional, which means they have to be folded correctly to be active,\u0022 explained Platt. \u0022The model suggested that even after the slight denaturation and refolding required by our assay, the cathepsin K activity determined by zymography reflected what happens in nature and was not an artifact of the experimental procedure.\u0022 \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe model also predicted something unexpected -- the inactive form of cathepsin K commonly purchased from supply houses contained 20 percent mature enzyme. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Cathepsins are implicated in many different diseases and the value of this assay is that it enables the measurement of previously undeterminable cathepsin activity in normal and diseased cells and tissues,\u0022 noted Platt. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith this assay, Platt\u2019s team is currently investigating whether cathepsin K activity is different in the cells of individuals with metastatic and non-metastatic breast and prostate cancers, and the role of cathepsin K in cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke, in children with sickle cell anemia. They are also examining whether cathepsin K plays a role in the inflammation associated with HIV. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This research should provide new information on a number of existing pathophysiological conditions where cathepsin K activity had been previously undetectable,\u0022 added Platt. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAdditional contributors to this work included Georgia Tech research technologists Catera Wilder and Philip Keegan; former graduate student Rebecca Deeds; and Joshua Cohen, a summer researcher at Georgia Tech and currently an undergraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003EAtlanta, Georgia 30308 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Abby Vogel (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:avogel@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eavogel@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)(404-385-3364) or John Toon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)(404-894-6986) \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Abby Vogel \u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech research team has developed a new technique that reliably detects and quantifies an enzyme implicated in osteoporosis, arthritis, atherosclerosis, cancer metastasis and other disease processes.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"An enzyme important to many disease processes can now be detected"}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2010-06-01 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:06:39","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-06-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-06-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"57714":{"id":"57714","type":"image","title":"Manu Platt detecting key enzyme","body":null,"created":"1449176051","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:54:11","changed":"1475894506","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:46","alt":"Manu Platt detecting key enzyme","file":{"fid":"190638","name":"ths97847.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ths97847_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ths97847_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1624014,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ths97847_0.jpg?itok=2kXBwuQp"}},"57715":{"id":"57715","type":"image","title":"Manu Platt detecting key enzyme","body":null,"created":"1449176051","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:54:11","changed":"1475894506","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:46","alt":"Manu Platt detecting key enzyme","file":{"fid":"190639","name":"trg97847.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/trg97847_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/trg97847_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1277779,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/trg97847_0.jpg?itok=CwedMP_W"}}},"media_ids":["57714","57715"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/facultystaff\/faculty_record.php?id=111","title":"Manu Platt"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"9686","name":"assay"},{"id":"7270","name":"atherosclerosis"},{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"1108","name":"detection"},{"id":"7735","name":"enzyme"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=jt7\u0022\u003EContact John Toon\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"50231":{"#nid":"50231","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Magnetic Nanoparticles Show Promise for Combating Human Cancer","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists at Georgia Tech and\nthe Ovarian Cancer Institute have further developed a potential new treatment\nagainst cancer that uses magnetic nanoparticles to attach to cancer cells,\nremoving them from the body. The treatment, tested in mice in 2008, has now\nbeen tested using samples from human cancer patients. The results appear online\nin the journal \u003Cem\u003ENanomedicine\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are primarily interested in developing an effective\nmethod to reduce the spread of ovarian cancer cells to other organs ,\u201d said\nJohn McDonald, professor at the the School of Biology at the Georgia Institute\nof Technology and chief research scientist at the Ovarian Cancer Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;The idea came to the research team from the work of Ken\nScarberry, then a Ph.D. student at Tech. Scarberry originally conceived of the\nidea as a means of extracting viruses and virally infected cells. At his\nadvisor\u2019s suggestion Scarberry began looking at how the system could work with\ncancer cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;He published his first paper on the subject in the \u003Cem\u003EJournal\nof the American Chemical Society\u003C\/em\u003E in July 2008. In that paper he and\nMcDonald showed that by giving the cancer cells of the mice a fluorescent green\ntag and staining the magnetic nanoparticles red, they were able to apply a\nmagnet and move the green cancer cells to the abdominal region.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Now McDonald and Scarberry, currently a post-doc in McDonald\u2019s\nlab, has showed that the magnetic technique works with human cancer cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cOften, the lethality of cancers\nis not attributed to the original tumor but to the establishment of distant\ntumors by cancer cells that exfoliate from the primary tumor,\u201d said Scarberry.\n\u201cCirculating tumor cells can implant at distant sites and give rise to\nsecondary tumors.\u0026nbsp; Our technique is\ndesigned to filter the peritoneal fluid or blood and remove these free floating\ncancer cells, which should increase longevity by preventing the continued\nmetastatic spread of the cancer.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;In tests, they showed that their\ntechnique worked as well with at capturing cancer cells from human patient\nsamples as it did previously in mice. The next step is to test how well the\ntechnique can increase survivorship in live animal models. If that goes well,\nthey will then test it with humans.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Scientists at Georgia Tech and the Ovarian Cancer Institute have further developed a potential new treatment against cancer that uses magnetic nanoparticles to attach to cancer cells, removing them from the body. The treatment, tested in mice in 2008, has now been tested using samples from human cancer patients.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Scientists show how magnetic nanoparticles can fight cancer"}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2010-01-28 09:08:48","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:04:12","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-02-01T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2010-02-01T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"50232":{"id":"50232","type":"image","title":"Magnetic Nanoparticles Attach to Human Cancer Cells","body":null,"created":"1449175437","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:43:57","changed":"1475894471","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:11","alt":"Magnetic Nanoparticles Attach to Human Cancer Cells","file":{"fid":"190151","name":"CAPTURED_ASCITES_CELLS_BRIGHT_FIELD_40X.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/CAPTURED_ASCITES_CELLS_BRIGHT_FIELD_40X.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/CAPTURED_ASCITES_CELLS_BRIGHT_FIELD_40X.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":779583,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/CAPTURED_ASCITES_CELLS_BRIGHT_FIELD_40X.jpg?itok=HzmXYaMv"}}},"media_ids":["50232"],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"2053","name":"magnetic"},{"id":"382","name":"nanoscience"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDavid Terraso\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECommunications and Marketing\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Edavid.terraso@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"52901":{"#nid":"52901","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Using Gold Nanoparticles to Hit Cancer Where It Hurts","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ETaking gold nanoparticles to the cancer cell and hitting them with a laser has been shown to be a promising tool in fighting cancer, but what about cancers that occur in places where a laser light can\u2019t reach? Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have shown that by directing gold nanoparticles into the nuclei of cancer cells, they can not only prevent them from multiplying, but can kill them where they lurk. The research appeared as a communication in the February 10 edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cWe\u2019ve developed a system that can kill cancer cells by shining light on gold nanoparticles, but what if the cancer is in a place where we can\u2019t shine light on it? To fix that problem, we\u2019ve decorated the gold with a chemical that brings it inside the nucleus of the cancer cell and stops it from dividing,\u201d said Mostafa El-Sayed, Regents professor and director of the Laser Dynamics Laboratory at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Once the cell stops dividing, apoptosis sets in and kills the cell.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cIn cancer, the nucleus divides much faster than that of a normal cell, so if we can stop it from dividing, we can stop the cancer,\u201d said El-Sayed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;The team tested their hypothesis on cells harvested from cancer of the ear, nose and throat. They decorated the cells with an argininge-glycine-aspartic acide petipde (RGD) to bring the gold nano-particles into the cytoplasm of a cancer cell but not the healthy cells and a nuclear localization signal peptide (NLS) to bring it into the nucleus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;In previous work they showed that just bringing the gold into the cytoplasm does nothing. In this current study, they found that implanting the gold into the nucleus effectively kills the cell.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cThe cell starts dividing and then it collapses,\u201d said El-Sayed. \u201cOnce you have a cell with two nuclei, it dies.\u201d\u0026nbsp;The gold works by interfering with the cells\u2019 DNA, he added. How that works exactly is the subject of a follow-up study.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u201cPreviously, we\u2019ve shown that we can bring gold nanoparticles into cancer cells and by shining a light on them, can kill the cells. Now we\u2019ve shown that if we direct those gold nanoparticles into the nucleus, we can kill the cancer cells that are in spots we can\u2019t hit with the light,\u201d said El-Sayed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;Next the team will test how the treatment works in vivo.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EScientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have shown that by directing gold nanoparticles into the nuclei of cancer cells, they can not only prevent them from multiplying, but can kill them where they lurk.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Implanting cancer with gold nanoparticles stops them from reproducing"}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2010-02-15 09:42:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:05:33","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-02-15T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2010-02-15T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"}],"keywords":[{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"741","name":"el-sayed"},{"id":"2185","name":"gold"},{"id":"742","name":"mostafa"},{"id":"2286","name":"nano"},{"id":"2973","name":"nanoparticles"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"27995":{"#nid":"27995","#data":{"type":"news","title":"New Center Focuses on Personalized  Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Integrative Cancer Research Center (ICRC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology is joining forces with the Center for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Development (CCRTD) at Clark Atlanta University (CAU) to establish a Collaborative Cancer Genomics Center (CCGC).  The partnership will integrate expertise at both universities that will focus on understanding the underlying causes of prostate, ovarian, pancreatic and lung cancers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShafiq Khan, director of Clark Atlanta\u0027s CCRTD, said, \u0022The molecular, bioinformatic and clinical expertise necessary to move forward with such a personalized cancer diagnosis and treatment program exists at the collaborating institutions.  Establishment of CCGC will complement the existing experimental infrastructure necessary to generate the genomic data required to attain our goals.\u0022\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJohn McDonald, director Georgia Tech\u0027s ICRC, added, \u0022We are particularly interested in developing algorithms that will allow us to use gene expression and DNA sequence data that we gather from specific patients to generate a customized prognosis and optimal therapeutic treatment program for individual cancer patients.\u0022\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUnder the collaborative agreement, CCRTD will house and operate the CCGC\u0027s high-throughput next generation sequencing instruments. The resulting sequence data will be assembled and analyzed at ICRC.  Patient samples will be provided by the Ovarian Cancer Institute (OCI) and Saint Joseph\u0027s Hospital\u0027s Translational Research Initiatives in Oncology for the Management of Personalized Healthcare (TRIOMPH ) program.  Clark Atlanta and Georgia Tech scientists will join clinical experts from OCI and TRIOMPH to interpret and evaluate the resulting data. \n\nHoused at CAU in the Thomas W. Cole Jr. Research Center for Science and Technology, the CCGC is scheduled to begin operation in the fall of 2009.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Integrative Cancer Research Center (ICRC) at the Georgia Institute of Technology is joining forces with the Center for Cancer Research and Therapeutic Development (CCRTD) at Clark Atlanta University (CAU) to establish a Collaborative Cancer Genomics Center (CCGC).  The partnership will integrate expertise at both universities that will focus on understanding the underlying causes of prostate, ovarian, pancreatic and lung cancers.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Tech joins with Clark Atlanta and St. Joseph\u0027s Hospital"}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2009-08-07 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:29","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-08-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2009-08-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"}],"categories":[{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"3411","name":"clark"},{"id":"3413","name":"joseph\\\u0027s daneker partnership"},{"id":"3412","name":"khan"},{"id":"281","name":"mcdonald"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"39743":{"#nid":"39743","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Cancer Coalition Selects Georgia Tech Scientist","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Cancer Coalition has announced the recipients of the 2009 Cancer Research Awards, made possible by Georgians who contribute to the Georgia Cancer Research Fund on their state income tax returns. Michelle Dawson, Ph.D., assistant professor at the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is one of the eight recipients. She will receive $50,000 for her research into the development of specialized cells designed as gene delivery vehicles to target and treat breast cancer.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFifty-one researchers submitted proposals for the 2009 awards. Those reviewing the proposals included nationally recognized scientists and clinicians from across the country. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDawson completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in 2008.  She earned her Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University in 2005, where she was awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Dr. Dawson is an outstanding and highly motivated researcher,\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Georgians fund awards through State Income Tax Check-Off Program"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"The Georgia Cancer Coalition has announced the recipients of the 2009 Cancer Research Awards, made possible by Georgians who contribute to the Georgia Cancer Research Fund on their state income tax returns. Michelle Dawson, Ph.D., assistant professor at the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is one of the eight recipients. She will receive $50,000 for her research into the development of specialized cells designed as gene delivery vehicles to target and treat breast cancer.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Michelle Dawson is a"}],"uid":"15436","created_gmt":"2009-01-30 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:20","author":"Automator","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-01-30T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2009-01-30T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"39744":{"id":"39744","type":"image","title":"tnc29826.jpg","body":null,"created":"1449174117","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:21:57","changed":"1475894256","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:37:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"189639","name":"tnc29826.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tnc29826_3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tnc29826_3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":60789,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tnc29826_3.jpg?itok=-WnEpJyM"}}},"media_ids":["39744"],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"101","name":"Award"},{"id":"1450","name":"Biomolecular Engineering"},{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"342","name":"Georgia"},{"id":"365","name":"Research"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EDon Fernandez\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=dfernandez8\u0022\u003EContact Don Fernandez\u003C\/a\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["Don.fernandez@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"49896":{"#nid":"49896","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Rules for Gene Silencing in Cancer Cells Identified","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EHuman cancers from breast and lung have a common pattern of genes vulnerable to silencing by DNA methylation, researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have found. The results are published in the January issue of \u003Cem\u003ECancer Research\u003C\/em\u003E. Postdoctoral fellow \u003Cstrong\u003EMichael McCabe\u003C\/strong\u003E, was first author, with contributions from \u003Cstrong\u003EEva Lee\u003C\/strong\u003E, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering at Georgia Tech. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERead more at:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\u0027http:\/\/whsc.emory.edu\/home\/news\/releases\/2009\/01\/rules-for-silencing-cancer-cells-identified.html\u0027\u003Ehttp:\/\/whsc.emory.edu\/home\/news\/releases\/2009\/01\/rules-for-silencing-cancer-cells-identified.html\u003C\/a\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Human cancers from breast and lung have a common pattern of genes vulnerable to silencing by DNA methylation, researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have found.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Rules for Gene Silencing in Cancer Cells Identified"}],"uid":"27279","created_gmt":"2009-01-13 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:56","author":"Barbara Christopher","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2009-01-13T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2009-01-13T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1242","name":"School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISYE)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"}],"keywords":[{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"1562","name":"Cancer Cells"},{"id":"1043","name":"eva lee"},{"id":"1042","name":"gene silencing"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EBarbara Christopher\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIndustrial and Systems Engineering\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=bt3\u0022\u003EContact Barbara Christopher\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404.385.3102\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["bchristopher@isye.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"56398":{"#nid":"56398","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Magnets Capture Cancer Cells","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThis article is from Technology Review:\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMagnetic nanoparticles coated with a specialized targeting molecule were able to latch on to cancer cells in mice and drag them out of the body. The results are described in a study published online this month in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The study\u0027s authors, researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology, hope that the new technique will one day provide a way to test for--and potentially even treat--metastatic ovarian cancer.  \u003Ca href=\u0027http:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/Biotech\/21112\/\u0027\u003E(more) \u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Magnetic nanoparticles coated with a specialized targeting molecule were able to latch on to cancer cells in mice and drag them out of the body. The results are described in a study published online this month in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The study\u0027s authors, researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology, hope that the new technique will one day provide a way to test for--and potentially even treat--metastatic ovarian cancer.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Nanoparticles pluck cancer cells from the bellies of mice"}],"uid":"27224","created_gmt":"2008-07-24 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:06:06","author":"Megan McDevitt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2008-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2008-07-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"140","name":"Cancer Research"},{"id":"132","name":"Institute Leadership"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"385","name":"cancer"},{"id":"2371","name":"John McDonald"},{"id":"2286","name":"nano"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cstrong\u003EMegan McDevitt\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIBB\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=mm504\u0022\u003EContact Megan McDevitt\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-7001\u003C\/strong\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["megan.mcdevitt@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}