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MSD Research Programs
MSD Research Abstracts
Radiopharmaceutical and Molecular Nuclear Medicine Science
Research
These program areas involve multifunctional, highly designed tracer molecules for
precise in vivo tagging and noninvasive imaging assay of cellular and subcellular
elements at the dynamic organ function, onset and progression of disease, and
response to successful or failing therapy. Research areas of particular
programmatic interest include:
- new tracer technologies for real-time, in vivo imaging of gene expression in health
and disease;
- new radiotracer labeling of progenitor cells for noninvasively imaging and tracking
their behavior and fate in vivo and their overall role in organ and tissue regeneration
in disease states;
- new radiotracers for in vivo targeting of mutated proteins critical to carcinogenesis
and tumor cell growth;
- new generation of radiotracers enabling in vivo imaging assay of neurotransmitter
chemistry and brain function.
For over 50 years, the Department's Office of Science and its predecessors have
supported basic physical science research for meeting the Nation's defense and
security needs. The SC's Office of Biological and Environmental Research program
has served as the Department's primary research arm for addressing the health and
environmental consequences and potential public pay-offs of atomic energy
explorations and use by translating the fundamental energy science to basic
technology innovations and development for medical applications. Along the way,
the program has leveraged the Department's unique capabilities in radiation
chemistry, physics, engineering, computation, and biology, together with capabilities
in and responsibilities for radiation detection and nuclear materials to support basic,
high-risk research that today provides the upstream basis to use radiation and other
energy technologies in medicine.
The mission of the subprogram is to deliver relevant scientific knowledge that will
lead to innovative diagnostic and treatment technologies for human health. The
basic research technologies growing out of this program offer applications for
noninvasive detection, diagnosis and early intervention of natural causes of disease,
as well as of human- health-risks associated with the exposure of chemical,
biological and nuclear material.
The modern era of nuclear medicine is an outgrowth of the original charge of the
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), "to exploit nuclear energy to promote human
health." Today the program, through radiopharmaceutical and molecular nuclear
medicine research, seeks to develop new applications of radiotracers and in vivo radionuclide detection in diagnosis and treatment by integrating the latest concepts
and developments in chemistry, pharmacology, genomic sciences and transgenic
animal models, structural, computational and molecular biology, and instrumentation.
The program supports directed nuclear medicine research through
radiopharmaceutical development and molecular nuclear medicine activities to
study uses of radioisotopes for non-invasive diagnosis and targeted, internal
molecular radiotherapy. Molecules directing or affected by homeostatic controls
always interact and, thus, are targets for specific molecular substrates. The
substrate molecules can be tailored to fulfill a specific need and labeled with
appropriate radioisotopes to become measurable in real time in the body on their
way to, and in interaction with their targets allowing the analysis of molecular function
in homeostatic control in health and disease. The function of radiopharmaceuticals
at various sites in the body is imaged by nuclear medical instruments, such as
gamma cameras and positron emission tomographs (PET). This type of imaging
refines diagnostic differentiation at molecular/metabolic levels between health and
disease, and among various diseases, often leading to more effective therapy.
Basic research in molecular biology has provided new insights to the molecular
basis of disease and molecular targets of human diseases. The current
Radiopharmaceutical and Molecular Nuclear Medicine programs encourage
development of new generation of radiolabeled molecules and technologies for
molecular delivery of radioisotopes to the disease-target-sites with a high degree of
precision, recognition, and target selectivity.
In addition, nuclear medicine, with the availability of miniaturized PET technology for
small animal imaging, can facilitate mapping of the biochemistry of the metabolic
organ function, visualizing the molecular biology of cell function, and zooming in on
gene function for delineating differences in molecular biology of normal health from
disease, in animals to humans.
With the advent of the genome project and the development of transgenic mice,
there has been a rapid proliferation of small animal models of human diseases, and
improvement in instrumentation technologies for in vivo optical and radionuclide
imaging. These technological advancements have offered a paradigm shift in the
current level of nuclear medicine research challenges and opportunities. It is
expected that radiopharmaceutical and molecular nuclear medicine techniques will
permit analysis of the molecular elements as markers of genetic manipulations,
biological transformations and progression of the disease, and will provide insights
to molecular pathways of disease and gene function.
Program Contact:
Prem C. Srivastava, Ph.D.
e-mail: prem.srivastava@science.doe.gov
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Medical Imaging
The Advanced Imaging Instrumentation Research Program includes:
- developing new 3-D PET imaging technology with improved high resolution;
- developing new technologies for merging individual imaging capabilities (PET,
Single Photon Emission Computing Tomograph, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and
Magnetoencephalography) for synergy;
- applying new techniques for solving complex diagnostic problems, i.e., study of
neurochemical status of the brain in patients with neurodegenerative diseases,
substance abuse, and for improved confidence in management of disease such as
cancer (diagnosis, design and planning treatment, and monitoring course of
therapy); and
- rapidly advancing and making nuclear imaging more compatible to current and
advancing future molecular nuclear medicine needs such as imaging gene
expression and monitoring gene therapy.
Program Contact:
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Boron Neutron-Capture Therapy
"Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT)" is an experimental approach to cancer
treatment that is based on a dual-step technique: accumulation of a
boron-containing compound within a tumor and treatment with a beam of low-energy
neutrons directed at the boron-containing tumor. The nuclei of the boron atoms
capture the neutrons and split into two highly charged particles (alpha particle and
lithium ion) that have very short path lengths, approximating one cell diameter. These
charged particles release sufficient energy locally to kill any tumor cells that contain
high concentrations of boron.
Over the past nine years, DOE has supported a nationwide research program to
develop BNCT for clinical use. DOE research funding was committed to:
- development of suitable neutron beams, using either reactors or accelerators as
neutron sources;
- development and evaluation for clinical suitability of various boron-carrying
compounds such as boronated amino acids, porphyrins, nucleosides, amines,
lipoproteins, and liposomes;
- pre-clinical studies dealing with pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of
boron-carrying compounds in animals and humans, radiation dosimetry estimations,
radiation biology experiments in cell systems, and BNCT experiments in small and
large animal models;
- Phase I clinical trials to assess boron-compound biodistribution, to plan treatment
software, and to assess toxicity and to define the limits of safety for BNCT, with
gradual escalation of the doses for both the boron-carrying compound and the
neutron dose, in compliance with regulatory obligations.
The clinical Phase I trials were not designed to provide data on the clinical efficacy
of BNCT, and the results of these Phase I trials cannot and should not be used to
infer or claim clinical efficacy of this experimental approach to cancer treatment.
Carefully designed Phase II and Phase III studies will need to be conducted in order
to test the potential effectiveness of BNCT for the treatment of glioblastoma,
melanoma or any other cancer. The technology developed by the DOE in the field of
neutron capture therapy is now being evaluated in clinical trials supported by the
National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
The present DOE BNCT program restricted to limited development of boron
containing compounds and support of the neutron source user facilities at MIT and
Washington State University.
Program Contact:
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Advanced Biomedical Technology
In FY 1999, BER initiated a new Advanced Medical Instrumentation (AMI) research
program. The AMI Program supports basic engineering research that utilizes the
unique resources and expertise at DOE National Laboratories to develop new
innovative medical technology. The overall goal of this Program is to support basic
research and technology development that will ultimately lead to the development of
medical instruments that can be transferred to the National Institutes of Health for
clinical testing or to industry for further commercial development. The AMI Program
supports multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research projects that address high-risk
medical technology problems. The focus of the Program is to further develop basic
technologies developed in other DOE Programs, such as Defense, Environmental,
and Physics into technologies that will have medical applications.
Whats New in DOE's Advanced Medical Instrumentation Program?
In response to the DOE Program Announcement, Lab 01-14, the Medical Sciences
Division has selected 8 new research projects to fund FY 2002 in the area of
advanced medical instrumentation development. The total annual funding for these
projects is approximately $7 million per year. A list of the currrent projects funded in
the Advanced Medical Instrumentation Program can be found at: Advanced Medical
Instrumentation
The First DOE Biomedical Engineering Contractors Meeting was held last May 16 -
18, 2000, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This meeting provided an opportunity for all
DOE Biomedical Engineering Contractors to present an overview of their funded
research and to discuss future plans for the DOE Biomedical Engineering Program.
In addition, two special afternoon symposiums on Artificial Limbs and Artificial Sight
were held. A electronic copy of the abstracts can be downloaded from the following
address: BME Meeting Abstracts.
DOE releases a report on Biomedical Engineering at DOE National Laboratories
This report is a listing of projects, principal investigators, and specific areas of
expertise at each DOE National Laboratory. A electronic copy of the report can be
obtained by downloading the Adobe PDF file or a hard copy of the report can be
obtained by contacting: Sharon Betson, sharon.betson@science.doe.gov
Other Biomedical Technology News
The NIH Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) convened a symposium on
Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: Shaping Biomedical Research on June 25-26,
2000 at the Natcher Center on the NIH main campus in Bethesda, Maryland. A copy
of the abstracts, exhibits, and summary report can be obtained from the following
web site: meeting summary
National Institutes of Health establishes a Bioengineering Consortium (BECON).
The focus of BECON is to address bioengineering issues at the NIH and is
composed of senior-level representatives from NIH and other federal agencies
concerned with biomedical research and development.
The Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century released by the
National Academy of Engineering.
Program Contact:
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