The research of the Microvascular Therapeutics & Imaging (MTI) laboratory focuses on the role of the microvasculature in both disease progression and response to novel therapeutics. The microvasculature is the primary means by which nutritional support is provided to tissue. Abnormal development of the microvasculature is a primary factor in several disease states, including cancer, age-related macular degeneration, and cutaneous vascular malformations. Current methods to study the microvasculature are limited in their ability to localize and quantify accurately biomarkers of interest.
To address these limitations, the MTI lab has focused on two areas of research: (1) in vivo optical imaging and (2) engineering of tissue optical properties. Advances in these two areas are expected to enable chronic, in vivo studies of hemodynamic changes during both disease progression and its response to therapeutic intervention, with unprecedented localization and quantitative accuracy. To this end, the following topics are under investigation in the laboratory:
Optical Imaging Instrumentation Development
In vivo Monitoring of Microvascular Response to Novel Therapeutics
Real-time Non-invasive Blood Flow Imaging
Engineering of Tissue Optical Properties