BME Faculty

Benveniste, Helene

Chair, Medical Department

Benveniste@bnl.gov

Summary : Benveniste's Laboratory focuses on (1) exploring, characterizing and understanding diagnostic MR contrast parameters suitable to visualize neuro-pathology in neurodegenerative diseases; (2) investigate transgenic animal models were specific genes are modified to understand mechanism(s) and treatment of addiction and of drug-induced neurotoxicity using high resolution MR imaging, (3) advance technologies in molecular MR imaging.

Brink, Peter R.

Professor and Chair, Physiology & Biophysics

Peter.Brink@sunysb.edu

Summary : Biophysical properties of gap junction properties.

Button, Terry

Associate Professor

Terry.Button@sunysb.edu

Summary : Fu-Pen Chiang's research interest is in the development and application of various optical techniques such as moire, holographic interferometry and speckle interferometry for stress analysis, nondestructive evaluation and metrology. He has applied these techniques to the study of fracture, fatigue and damage of metallic, composite and biological materials and published some 200 papers on various topics. He was the recipient of the 1993 B.J. Lazan Award of the Society for Experimental Mechanics. His research has been supported by NSF, ONR, ARO for his "outstanding original technical contributions in optical metrology." He is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Mechanics, Optical Society of America and a member of many professional societies including, ASMF, ASEE, AAAS and ASTM. He served as Editor of Int. J. Optics of Lasers in Engineering, Associate Editor of J. of Experimental Mechanics and ASME J. of Engineering Materials and Technology. He served as Guest Editor for four special issues of J. Optical Engineering, and organized many international and national conferences.

Chiang, Fu-Peng

Leading Professor and Chair, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

fchiang@ccmail.sunysb.edu

Summary : Development and application of various optical techniques such as moire, holographic interferometry and speckle interferometry for stress analysis, nondestructive evaluation and metrology.

Chu, Benjamin

Distinguished Professor, Dept. of Chemistry

benjamin.chu@sunysb.edu

Summary : Synthesis, characterization and processing of biomaterials, molecular manipulation and self-assembly in biomimetic mineralization, DNA complexation for gene therapy.

Cohen, Ira S.

Professor

icohen@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Summary : Electrophysiology of the heart; synaptic physiology.

Dhundale, Anil

Research Assistant Professor

Anil.Dhundale@sunysb.edu

Summary : My interests are in commercialization of technology, i.e.- translating research discoveries into useable commercial products. These products can be therapeutics to treat disease, diagnostics for identifying or classifying disease, or tools for researchers to use. But in addition all technology based products include Information Technologies, Clean/Alternative Energy, etc. Currently I manage the Stony Brook Technology Business Incubators Program from an office at the Long Island High Technology Incubator (www.LIHTI.org). This position is to assist academic researchers to start companies and mentor established small technology businesses, all with a goal to translate discoveries into novel products and services. The Stony Brook campus and our partner research institutions on Long Island have a long established, highly successful, culture of invention. There is also an extensive Economic Development network (http://www.sunysb.edu/ecodev/) with many individuals that have and continue to guide a broad range of technologies from discovery through development. Our goal for economic development is to create and retain high technology jobs and have positive economic impact in the Long Island region.

Dilmanian, F. Avraham

Associate Professor

Dilmanian@bnl.gov

Summary : The focus of Avraham Dilmanian's work is on the use of X-ray beams from the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), Brookhaven National Laboratory, in radiation therapy and medical imaging. The radiotherapy program, microbeam radiation therapy (MRT), uses arrays of parallel, microplanar X-rays and has two remarkable effects on laboratory vertebrates. First, it does not damage normal tissues at doses where conventional, broad beams produce severe tissue damage. Second, MRT kills some types of malignant tumors by irradiation from a single angle, at doses that are safe to normal tissues. Dilmanian's imaging programs pivot around computed tomography using monoenergetic X-ray beams. In particular, he and his colleagues recently implemented a new X-ray imaging method, Diffraction-Enhance Imaging (DEI), in the CT mode, studying phantoms and small animals. In both MRT and the imag-ing methods, technical challenges after the feasibility studies at the NSLS would be to develop compact sources for implementing the methods in hospitals.

Ding, Yu-Shin

Senior Scientist

ding@bnl.gov

Summary : Yu-Shin Ding is a Senior Scientist with Tenure at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). She is Head of Radiotracer Development in the Neuroscience and Medical Imaging Group. Her research interests are the development of new methodologies to synthesize short half-lived radiopharmaceuticals and applying them towards investigation of biochemical transformations and drug mechanisms in primates and human. She has developed many unique radiotracers, many involving multi-step sequences; for example, she developed C-11 labeled methylphenidate (Ritalin) allowing the first studies of this drug in the human brain, including studies in normal aging, drug abuse, Parkinson's Disease and ADHD. Her research has focused on the investigation of the functional significance of dopamine, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, opiate receptor, adenosine receptor systems as well as studies of breast cancer and melanoma.

Djuric, Petar

Professor

Petar.Djuric@sunysb.edu

Summary : The theory of signal processing and its applications to a wide range of engineering and scientific problems. Recently, his work in biomedical engineering has been related to the development of computational methods for prediction of cellular and intercellular processes modeled by biochemical reaction networks. Another field of interest is signal processing of data obtained by magnetic resonance spectroscopy with applications to quantification of neural stem cells. Djuric is a Senior Member of IEEE and is a Member of the American Statistical Association and the International Society for Bayesian Analysis. He has been invited to lecture at many universities in the United States and overseas. He has also been Associate Editor of several journals and Guest Editor of special issues.

Einav, Shmuel

Professor

seinav@sunysb.edu

Summary : The primary role of this laboratory is to study basic physiological flow phenomena, both experimentally and numerically, as well as cellular and tissue engineering as applied to the vascular system. and to suggest ways of improving the functioning of cells, tissues and organs in the body. These physiological flows include blood flow in the heart, blood flow in arteries, veins and the microcirculation, air flow in the respiratory airways, and urine flow in the kidney and urethra. This laboratory simulates systems through the use of computers, assisting life scientists to better understand physiological functions without having to rely entirely on living systems as experimental models. The use of mathematical analysis helps minimize animal experimentation. Other projects are the investigation of hemodynamics as a regulator of vascular biology, the mathematical modeling of the dynamic response of mammalian cells, the role of flow and the associated shear stress on vascular endothelial biology, prosthetic circulatory devices and the tissue engineering of blood vessel substitutes. The laboratory is also engaged in the evaluation of critical conditions that lead to failure of biological organs, such as the heart and the coronary circulation, failure of circulatory prosthetic devices as stents, heart valves and grafts. To facilitate in vitro and in vivo studies, the laboratory develops new investigative techniques, noninvasive diagnostic methods, and advance, multi-dimensional numerical modeling.

Fowler, Joanna

Professor

Fowler@bnl.gov

Summary : A senior chemist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, she focuses on the biochemical effects of drugs, aging, and selected diseases on the brain. Fowler received a Jacob Javits Investigator Award in the Neurosciences, in 1986 and 1993; a Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest in 1988; Brookhaven Laboratory's R&D Award, in 1994; the Aebersold Award from the Society of Nuclear Medicine in 1997; and the Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal in 1998.

Gindi, Gene R.

Associate Professor

Gindi@clio.rad.sunysb.edu

Summary : Algorithm development for medical imaging, particularly the application of applied mathematical methods to image reconstruction and to quantitative metrics for image quality. Gindi has been working in the area of nuclear medicine, where probabilistic methods must be used to reconstruct the image from the quantum limited acquired data. His team's approach has been to use Bayesian methods able to accurately model the image formation process as well as to model assorted forms of prior information concerning the object to be reconstructed. Such prior information includes knowledge of piecewise smoothness of the object as well as side information that can be gleaned from MRIs of the same patient. Image quality involves the formulation of crisp mathematical criteria. A considerable effort in signal processing is required in formulating how noise and object variation affect these criteria. Gindi and his students have made recent progress in the formulation of methods to describe noise propagation in nonlinear reconstruction algorithms.

Goldfarb, James W.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scientist

James.Goldfarb@chsli.edu

Summary : The application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the cardiovascular system, particularly in the areas of myocardial function and blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death in industrialized nations. Magnetic resonance’s ability for both anatomic and physiological imaging has enormous clinical potential as a noninvasive alternative to conventional invasive procedures. However, significant hurdles remain for cardiovascular MRI. Dr. Goldfarb has been developing, refining and evaluating novel methods that allow improved temporal and spatial resolution, which is needed to transform proposed methods into reliable clinical protocols. Active areas of research include contrast-enhanced angiography, myocardial viability and the development of fast imaging techniques.

Goldstein, Rita

Assistant Scientist

rgoldstein@bnl.gov

Summary : In this study of the brain-behavior mechanisms that underlie drug addiction, I place a special emphasis on the role of the prefrontal cortex and the mesocortical and mesolimbic dopamine brain circuits in the impaired ability to change ongoing behavior (willed-behavior) in response to an emotionally salient feedback. This intricate study of the interaction between brain and behavior incorporates the interrelated yet distinct research disciplines of neuroimaging, cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology. My research embraces this multidisciplinary approach, translating into patient-oriented clinical research settings the principles of non-invasive techniques to measure brain function such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), event-related potential (ERP) recordings, and neuropsychology.

Hainfeld, James F.

hainfeld@bnl.gov

Summary : James Hainfeld develops organometallic cluster compounds to be used as high resolution molecular labels. These heavy metal clusters are covalently attached to peptides, antibodies, other proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates or lipids to map sites of macromolecules or complexes for visualization in the Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM). Such clusters have been useful in studying the proteasome, pyruvate dehydrogenase enzyme complex, actin filaments, viruses, blood clotting components, nuclear proteins, and other structures. Use of clusters in anomalous X-ray scattering or for isomorphous replacements is being investigated also. Gold, platinum, palladium, silver, iridium, and other metal clusters have been synthesized. Recently, gold clusters having Nickel-NTA for binding 6x-His tagged proteins, gold-liposomes, gold-cluster-ATP, and giant platinum clusters have been studied. Dr. Hainfeld also founded Nanoprobes, Inc., a bio-nanotechnology biotech company, and serves as the CEO. Nanoprobes researches and develops organometallic nanoparticles for use in biomedical and material science applications. for more information see: www.biology.bnl.gov/stem/stem.html and www.nanoprobes.com

Hannon, Gregory J.

Howard Hughes Medical Institution Investigator

Gregory.Hannon@chsli.edu

Summary : Dr. Hannon received a B.A. degree in biochemistry and a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Case Western Reserve University, where he trained in the laboratory of Tim Nilsen. From 1992 to 1995, he was a postdoctoral fellow of the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Research Fund in the laboratory of David Beach, where he explored cell cycle regulation in mammalian cells. Dr. Hannon, along with collaborators, was able to identify p21, p15 and p16. His work and that of others has linked each of these to major tumor suppressor pathways, with the two latter genes being tumor suppressors in their own right and p21 being a major effector of the p53 tumor suppressor. After becoming an Assistant Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 1996 and a Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences in 1997, in 2000, he began to make seminal observations in the emerging field of RNA interference. His laboratory identified the effector complex of RNAi, which is called RISC, and showed that it contained small RNAs, now known as siRNAs, that were similar in size to those originally observed by David Baulcombe in his study of plants that were silencing transgenes by co-suppression. The origin of such small RNAs was revealed with his discovery of the Dicer enzyme; an RNAseIII family member that cleaves dsRNAs into discretely sized small RNAs that enter RISC. In 2002 Dr. Hannon accepted a position as Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory where he continued his studies to reveal that endogenous non-coding RNAs, then known as small temporal RNAs and now as microRNAs, enter the RNAi pathway through Dicer and direct RISC to regulate the expression of endogenous protein coding genes. In recognition of his research, Dr. Hannon was appointed to the Faculty of 1000, received the U.S. Army Breast Cancer Research Program’s Innovator Award and the American Association for Cancer Research’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research. He assumed his current position in 2005 and continues to explore the mechanisms and regulation of RNA interference as well as its applications to cancer research.

Harrington, Donald

Professor

Donald.Harrington@sunysb.edu

Summary : In 1991, Donald Harrington joined Stony Brook's Department of Radiology as a professor and University Hospital as radiologist-in-chief. Previously, he had taught at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Harrington's major research interests include Magnetic Resonance Imaging in medicine; telecommunications of imaging and data for patient care and medical teaching; and medical image processing. He has published his findings in over 100 journals, including Radiology, the American Journal of Cardiology, the Johns Hopkins Medical Journal, the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Surgery, Applied Radiology, and many others. He is also an associate editor of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology and a reviewer for the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Hsiao, Benjamin

Professor

bhsiao@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Summary : I am interested in understanding the structural and morphological development and manipulation of complex polymer systems during preparation and processing in real time. The focus of my research projects is the design, preparation, characterization and application of nanostructured soft condensed materials, such as fibers (one-dimensional orientation), films (two-dimensional orientation) and bulk material systems (three-dimensional orientation), through precise control of molecular architecture and physical interactions including crystallization, molecular level mixing, deformation and flow. My particular interests in biomedical applications include the use nanostructured biodgredation materials for drug release and tissue engineering.

Jacobsen, Chris

Professor

Chris.Jacobsen@sunysb.edu

Summary : Chris Jacobsen's work is aimed at the development and applications of high resolution X-ray imaging modalities. He, in collaboration with Professor Kirz and their students, built several scanning transmission X-ray microscopes which make use of two beamlines at the National Synchrotron Light Source at nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory. These microscopes use microfab-ricated diffracted optics (zone plates) to focus the bright beam of X-rays to a 50 nm spot which is used to explore the specimen. Chemical and elemental information is gained using absorption spectroscopy at any desired location. Wet specimens up to 10 microns thick may be examined at room temperature or in a frozen hydrated form at liquid nitrogen temperature to reduce radiation damage. Jacobsen was a Presidential Faculty Fellow (NSF/White House, 1992-1997), and received the International Dennis Gabor Award in 1996.

Jesty, Jolyon

Professor

JJesty@mail.som.sunysb.edu

Summary : Jo Jesty's research is done in collaboration with colleagues in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. His main interest is how the control mechanisms of blood coagulation interact to minimize the response of the system to low stimulus levels; in other words, the prevention of the abnormal responses that cause thrombosis. This involves a two-pronged approach of experimental kinetic studies in parallel with mathematical analysis and numerical simulation of the control systems involved. Jesty's particular focus is the controls that operate in the initiation of coagulation, in which two inhibitors are involved, along with three positive feedbacks. Additionally, a recent collaborative project concerns the effect of prosthetic heart valves on platelet function, and particularly the ways in which they damage platelets. Jesty has published in the areas of both biochemistry and applied mathematics in Biochemistry, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and many other journals. He is also an associate editor of the journal Haemostasis.

Kaufman, Arie E.

Professor

Arie.Kaufman@sunysb.edu

Summary : Arie Kaufman is the director of the Center of Visual Computing (CVC) and the director of the Cube project for volume visualization supported by the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Office of Naval Research, Hughes Aircraft Company, Hewlett-Packard Company, Silicon Graphics Company, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and many others. His research interests include computer graphics and specifically computer graphics architectures, algorithms, and languages; visualization including volume visualization and scientific visualization; user interfaces; virtual reality; and multimedia. Kaufman is the editor-in-chief of the IEEE Transaction on Visualization and Computer Graphics. He has lectured widely and published numerous technical papers in these areas, including the IEEE tutorial book on Volume Visualization. He has been the papers chair and program cochair for Visualization 1990-1994 and the chairman of the IEEE CS Technical Committee on Computer Graphics.

Kolsky, Kathryn L.

Scientist

kolsky@bnl.gov

Summary : Kathryn Kolsky’s primary research interest is in the development and production of radioisotopes using the BLIP facility, a high-energy charged particle accelerator at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Many of these isotopes have applications in the field of Nuclear Medicine. Of current interest is the development of techniques for the production of no-carrier added tin-117m (an Auger emitter) for tumor therapy. Most malignant tumors express one or more receptor proteins that are absent or subdued in normal cells. Targeting such exclusive proteins with radionuclides to image or treat tumors is a very attractive approach. The targeting moiety most often is an analog of the natural ligand for the receptors. We are developing methods to synthesize Sn-117m labeled precursors that will selectively bind to the estrogen receptor on malignant breast carcinoma, while sparing the surrounding normal tissue.

Krukenkamp, Irvin

Professor

Irvin.Krukenkamp@sunysb.edu

Summary : In 1997, Irvin Krukenkamp joined the Stony Brook faculty as professor of surgery and chief of cardiothoracic surgery. Coming from Harvard University, Krukenkamp now directs the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and also co-directs the newly formed Heart Hospital. Performing the only open heart surgery in Suffolk County, he and his team of cardiothoracic surgeons specialize in high-risk and tertiary care types of surgical intervention. Krukenkamp's special clinical interests also include coronary and valve surgery in the octogenarian; and operative management and myocardial protection of the profoundly dysfunctional heart. Krukenkamp's research interests include myocardial mechanics and energetics; myocardial protection by cardioplegia; and new endogenous myoprotective strategies utilizing preconditioning. He is currently the principal investigator or co-investigator of three NIH-funded studies focusing on myocardial protection in the senescent heart; the electrophysiology of potassium channel opening; and the mechanics of ischemic myocardial preconditioning.

Liang, Jerome Z.

Professor of Radiology, Computer Science, and Physics

jzl@mil.sunysb.edu

Summary : Jerome Liang focuses his attention on the development of quantitative SPECT systems, 3D virtual endoscopy, and computer aided diagnosis. This work includes creating a quantitative SPECT imaging modality as a cost-effective means for patient diagnosis as well as developing a high resolution PET as a functional research imaging modality. Liang is also striving to create a virtual colonoscopy as a cost-effective procedure for colon screening and to construct an automatic method for brain-tissue segmentation for diagnosis of disorders. In addition, he plans to build various models, in terms of physics, mathematics, and statistics, to simulate the practical problems above and then to validate the models by experiments. Liang has published his findings in journals such as Magnetic Resonance Medicine.

Logan, Jean

Scientist

Summary : Jean Logan has worked in the positron emission tomography (PET) group at BNL since her post-doctoral in theoretical chemistry. Her research interests are primarily the kinetic modeling of data from PET experiments. PET measures radioactivity concentration in tissue after the introduction of a radiotracer. The PET group has developed radiotracers for a number of brain receptors (for example the dopamine D2 receptor, the dopamine transporter, the norepinephrine transporter) and enzymes (monoamine oxidase A and B which occur in the brain as well as in many peripheral organs). Since PET measures the total radiotracer concentration in the tissue it is necessary to separate the tissue accumulation due to functioning receptor etc. from other processes such as tracer delivery via blood flow. She developed a simple technique for analyzing PET data extracting information related to available receptor concentration that is frequently used in PET research today.

Mathias, Richard T.

Professor

rmathias@notes.cc.sunysb.edu

Summary : Research in biophysics seeks physical insights into how cells and tissues function, with the ultimate goal to better the health of mankind. In our lab, research is directed toward understanding fundamental properties of two different organs, and how those properties relate to specific diseases: 1) homeostasis in the normal lens and how its compromise leads to formation of cataracts in the elderly; 2) regulation of calcium and contraction in the heart and how their compromise leads to congestive heart failure. Our work suggests both are related to membrane transport proteins, membrane voltage and ionic current flow from cell to cell. My early work was on the voltage distribution and 3-dimensional current spread in multi-cellular tissues. Maxwell's classical laws relating charge and voltage provide part of the picture, but ions move about by diffusion and convection as well as conduction, so the laws of thermodynamics, describing the coupling of these driving forces to ion fluxes, also apply. The geometry of the cells, the interconnection between cells and the specific membrane transport proteins in local groups of cells are important components of organ function. Both the heart and lens have spatially segregated membrane transport proteins, which interact through the interconnection of cells via gap junctions. In the last 10 years, we have focused on the roles of specific membrane proteins that generate, regulate and direct fluxes of ions, water and neutral solutes in these two organs.

McCombie, W. Richard

Associate Professor

mccombie@cshl.edu

Summary : Our lab is taking a proactive approach to the genome information explosion by developing databases, data-analysis tools, and user interfaces to organize, manage, and visualize that vast body of information. One current project is the development of a third-party annotation system for the Caenorhabditis elegans genome sequence. This system will allow researchers to add comments and observations to the C. elegans database and to conveniently view the annotations of others with a Web browser. The system uses the ACEDB database in conjunction with the Java and Perl interfaces that have been developed in our lab. A second project is the development of a genome informatics tool kit, a modular collection of database query tools, sequence-analysis programs, and user interfaces that will allow biologists to solve data-management problems without the assistance of a computer programmer.

Miller, Lisa

Biophysicist

lmiller@bnl.gov

Summary : Lisa Miller is the Life and Environmental Sciences group leader at the NSLS. She is also spokesperson for Beamline U10B and X27A. Beamline U10B specializes in mid-infrared microspectroscopy of materials such as biological tissues, polymers, coated and corroded surfaces, soils, minerals, and plants. Beamline X27A specializes in x-ray fluorescence microprobe analysis of trace metals in similar materials. Lisa Miller's research focuses on the study of the chemical makeup of tissue in disease using high-resolution infrared and x-ray imaging at the NSLS. Her work has two primary research areas: (1) examination of the chemical composition of bone tissue in diseases such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, and (2) correlation of metal ion content and protein structure in brain tissue in protein-folding diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and scrapie.

Mueller, Klaus

mueller@cs.sunysb.edu

Summary : Klaus Mueller's areas of interest are medical, scientific and information visualization, visual analytics, medical imaging, computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality, and high-performance computing. He has pioneered the use of programmable commodity graphics hardware boards (GPUs) for the acceleration of a wide variety of computer tomographic (CT) reconstruction algorithms and medical physics phenomena. Applications include diagnostic imaging, radiotherapy, electron microscopy, ultrasound tomography for breast mammography, and others. In the visual analytics area he works on devising new high-dimensional data visualization frameworks and combining them with statistical pattern recognition and machine learning to create intuitive interactive analytical reasoning environments for medical professionals. He is also working towards a comprehensive visual data mining environment for neuroscientists, called BrainMiner, to enable a more targeted and experiential derivation of brain functional models from large collections of knowledge and data.

Pena, Louis

Associate Scientist

lpena@bnl.gov

Summary : While trying to develop novel radiation protection drugs, we developed a method to make analogs (mimetics) of heparin-binding cytokines / growth factors. These are modular, multi-domain peptides that mimic the action of cytokines but are much smaller and vastly more chemically stable than natural cytokine proteins. These advantages make them ideal for multiple bioengineering applications. One set of analogs (the F2A series) were designed to stimulate the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR1) complex and they function as mimetics of bFGF (a.k.a. FGF-2). These do, in fact, confer radiation protection to cells and to whole animals subjected to controlled doses of ionizing radiation. But since cytokines / growth factors have multiple actions, we are pursuing other avenues as well. For example, one wound healing application is where a derivatized heparin can be coated onto any medical device surface or film followed by a coating of F2A which can subsequently elute from the surface/film to provide local delivery of a growth factor mimetic to a wound site. It is one of our goals to make chemical modifications to each component in order to control the rate of delivery. bFGF is also involved the differentiation of bone forming cells (osteodifferentiation) and we are working on F2As, for example, in models of ectopic bone formation in biodegradable scaffolds and matrices. Another set of analogs (the B2A series) were designed to target the receptors of bone morphogenic protein-2 (BMP-2), and we are working on these in similar bone models. Future analogs may focus on cartilage formation, wound repair, and nerve repair. Finally, by chemically modifying one of the domains (modules), we can couple a radioactive tracer such as a positron-emitting isotope. Thus we are working on a new generation of PET probes to detect the upregulation of cytokine receptors and are currently focused on an animal model of an inflammatory CNS disease, Multiple Sclerosis. Apart from micro-PET development, in all of our animal work, we extensively employ micro-MRI and micro-CT.

Thanos, Panayotis (Peter) K.

Assisant Professor

thanos@bnl.gov

Summary : "Gene therapy and dopaminergic mechanisms of alcohol and drug abuse Funded by NIDA, NIAAA and DOE # The role of dopamine and its receptors on alcohol, drug abuse and obesity using animal models (knockout mice, rats). -Developing gene therapy techniques for treatment of these addictions. -microPET imaging of the rodent brain treated with gene therapy -Correlating these findings with clinical studies on alcoholism, drug abuse and obesity)"

Tracey, Kevin

Director, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

Summary : Systemic inflammation is an important process in the development of shock, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, stroke, and other diseases. Our research focuses on the roles of individual mediators of systemic inflammation, and their regulation by interactions between the brain and the innate immune system. Our discovery of the inflammatory action of TNF in non-malignant disease led directly to clinically approved treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. To discover new mediators of systemic inflammation, we screened products of endotoxin-stimulated macrophage cultures. This resulted in the discovery that HMG-1, a DNA binding protein that was widely studied for its intracellular roles, is a mediator of endotoxin lethality. In contrast to TNF and IL-1, which are released early after endotoxin exposure, HMG-1 is released late after exposure to endotoxin. Antibodies to HMG-1 completely protect mice from endotoxin lethality, even when treatment is delayed several hours. In critically ill patients, the highest serum HMG-1 levels exist in lethal cases, indicating that HMG-1 may be a therapeutic agent. Ongoing research addresses the mechanisms of HMG-1 toxicity and action, as well as the identification of signal transduction pathways.

Vaska, Paul

Associate Scientist

vaska@bnl.gov

Summary : The research interests of Dr. Vaska comprise all aspects of the physics of positron emission tomography (PET). This ranges from the development of unique detector technologies which extend the limits of spatial resolution and sensitivity, through improved corrections for physical effects, image reconstruction methods, and post-processing techniques to improve image quantitation. He has worked extensively with both human and small-animal PET systems and oversees the physics aspects of the clinical PET research carried out at the BNL PET facility. His previous research as a physicist for a major PET firm included development of a dedicated brain scanner in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, and novel calibration and data acquisition methods. A recent advance in the field of neuroimmunomodulation was our identification of the “cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway,” a neural-immune connection through which the central nervous system inhibits systemic inflammation. It had been widely known that TNF, IL-1 and other mediators interact with the vagus nerve in the periphery, and induce afferent signals to the brain; the brain, in turn, responds with anti-inflammatory signals mediated by steroids such as ACTH and MSH. We discovered that the brain also utilizes conventional neurotransmitters that are released from the vagus nerve to generate a response in peripheral organs. In vivo, surgical vagotomy prevents this communication; animals exposed to endotoxin succumb to endotoxic shock more rapidly than animals with an intact vagus. We also found that macrophages express acetylcholine receptor activity, and that acetylcholine can block the activation of macrophages in response to endotoxin. Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve inhibits systemic inflammation, inhibits the release of TNF, HMG-1, and other mediators, and prevents death due to endotoxic shock. Ongoing studies are focused on identifying the neural substrate of this system, developing optimal stimulation parameters, and determining the molecular basis of cholinergic signal transduction in macrophages.

Vazquez, Marcelo

Scientist

vazquez@bnl.gov

Summary : Because successful operations in space depend on the performance capabilities of astronauts, radiation-induced neurological damage could jeopardize the successful completion of mission requirements, as well as have long-term consequences on the health of astronauts. Thus, it is necessary to understand the nature of this risk in order to assess its seriousness and to develop countermeasures. Dr. Vazquez's has focus his research primarily in the study of the mechanisms of central nervous system (CNS) damage induced by space radiation using in vitro (neural stem cells and neurons) and in vivo models (mice). His research interest is the identification of the molecular, cellular and system responses as well as behavioral alterations induced by heavy ion exposures. His long-term research goals are the development and testing of radioprotectant compounds to be utilized humans exposed to ionizing radiation (astronauts, radiation workers, radiation therapy patients, etc.). In addition, Dr. Vazquez is interested in the short and long-term effects of space radiation on bone and the cardiovascular system using state-of-the-art imaging techniques as well as molecular and cellular methods. His work is supported by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA). He is also the Associate director of the NASA Space Radiation Summer School and the NASA/NSBRI Space Radiation Liaison Scientist.

Wagshul, Mark

Assisant Professor

wagshul@clio.rad.sunysb.edu

Summary : Mark Wagshul is interested in utilizing MRI techniques for better understanding, diagnosing and treating disease. His primary research involves the development and validation of a new model of intracranial dynamics which is being used in the diagnosis and treatment of hydrocephalus and related neurological diseases. Ongoing projects in this area are in collaboration with researchers in the Departments of Neurosurgery and Mechanical Engineering. The research involves patient as well as animal-based studies. He also has research efforts in pulse sequence development for new MRI procedures, developing new techniques for more effective detection of breast cancer using MRI, in the use of MRI coupled with high-intensity focused ultrasound for non-invasive surgical procedures and in MRI hardware and systems development.

Wang, Yi

MR Physicist

Yi.Wang@chsli.edu

Summary : The Cardiac MRI research lab in St. Francis Hospital focuses on noninvasive in vivo cardiovascular imaging for the heart functional and morphological assessment using magnetic resonance imaging and image processing techniques. My current major research interests are: Tissue contrast, artifact suppression and MRI sequence design related to fast cardiac imaging, Myocardium perfusion on ischemic heart, Cardiac vessel imaging to evaluate coronary artery stenosis and atherosclerotic plaque.

Welsh, Keith T

Medical Physicist

Keith.Welsh@stonybrook.edu

Summary : Primary focuses are the duties associated with clinical medical physics. Activities include assisting in the commissioning of a new Varian 6Ex LINAC with a BrainLAB M3 miniature multileaf collimator, primary clinical Stereotactic Radiosurgery physicist responsible for up to 5 SRS procedures a month, update and correct both professional and technical components of billing via CPT, APC and HPCPS codes for Radiation Oncology services, oversee all Medical Physicist’s responsibilities of a single LINAC satellite facility. Clinical duties include monthly and annual QA of multimodality LINAC and simulator, external beam and Brachytherapy patient chart checking, IMRT QA, HDR treatment planning, tandem and ovoid treatment planning, and others. Teaching experience consists of electron dosimetry and treatment planning, HDR, and neutron physics in radiation oncology. Teaching duties also include supervising projects for MS and Ph.D. student in Biomedical engineering.

Zhang, Michael Q.

Associate Professor

mzhang@cshl.edu

Summary : The long-term goal of research in our lab is to use mathematical and statistical methods to identify functional elements in eucaryotic genomes, especially the genes and their control and regulatory elements. A genome is the program book of a life, genome research will lead to eventual decoding of the entire genetic language of life and its grammar. Driven by the Human Genome Projetc, our current interest is on two related problems: gene-finding and gene expression analysis. Since most of eukaryotic genes are split by intervening sequences (called introns), after transcription of a gene into a precursor mRNA, the introns have to be spliced out and the remaining fragments (called exons) have to be joined together as a mature mRNA before it can be translated into protein. Therefore, the key of gene-finding is to identify these exons. Constitutive coding exons are relatively easy to identify, the greatest challenge lies in the identification of end exons and alternatively spliced exons. Since this requires the study of many important control and regulatory elements for gene expression. This link between gene structure and function at the genomic level requires high-throughput functional studies. Detecting cis regulatory elements and modeling gene expression networks are becoming new challenges in the functional genomics era. Working closely with bench-scientists, our investigation will undoubtedly contribute to the understanding of genome organization as well as their control and regulation mechanisms, which will in turn have a profound impact on biology and medicine.

Zhao, Wei

Assisant Professor

wzhao@radiol.som.sunysb.edu

Summary : Wei Zhao's main research interest is in the development of novel detector concept and new clinical applications for early detection of cancer. Her current research projects include (1) the characterization and optimization of a high-resolution flat-panel detector for digital mammography (imaging of the breast) through prototype development, image analysis, and computer modeling; (2) the development of detector technology and imaging system for three-dimensional imaging of the breast, which is aimed at achieving better detection of abnormality than existing two dimensional projection images; and (3) feasibility investigation of a large area flat-panel detector with amplification at each pixel for very low dose x-ray imaging applications.

Zhong , Zhong

Assisant Professor

zhong@bnl.gov

Summary : My research interests are medical imaging and diagnosis using monochromatic x-rays, x-ray phase contrast, and x-ray optics. My past work include contrast agent imaging applied to angiography using K-edge subtraction and monochromatic x-rays, development of bent-crystal monochromator for conventional x-ray source. As a scientist at the National Synchrotron Light Source and co-inventor of the Diffraction Enhanced Imaging (DEI) method, my recent research efforts have been on investigation of DEI on mammography and cartilage imaging. Unlike conventional x-ray imaging methods, DEI is sensitive to phase contrast and is thus more suitable for soft-tissue imaging. I am also developing crystal optics for focusing high-energy x-rays produced by synchrotron radiation source.

Zhu, Wei

Professor

Zhu@ams.sunysb.edu

Summary : Wei Zhu is a biostatistician. Her major research areas are brain image analysis, design and analysis of clinical trials and other biomedical studies, and genetics modeling. In the brain image analysis area, she is collaborating with medical researchers at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) to identify and quantify changes in brain functional relationships under drug influence. She is among the pioneers in applying the concept of multiple-objective optimal design to clinical trials and quantal dose-response experiments. In genetics, she is working on the analysis of gene microarray expression data to ascribe genes to various functional groups and to ascertain genes that are linked to certain diseases. She has experience with the analysis of large data sets on the scale of terabytes and is an affiliate of the BNL Center for Data Intensive Computing. In addition to her close collaboration with BNL, Wei Zhu has also worked with researchers at USB, the New York State Department of Health, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Merck Research Laboratories, and Veeco UPA in the past three years.