Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2009

Mentor: Jinming Gao
Department: Pharmacology, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
Room number: ND2.210
Mail Code: 8807
Phone number: x5-6370
E-mail: jinming.gao@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: Targeted Nanoparticles for Lung Cancer Imaging and Therapy

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): NA

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): APN 1073-07-03-1

Project Type (patient-based research, animal-based research, or basic research; this characterization is only to permit a general classification for grouping similar types of projects)

Brief Description of Project:

In my lab Jason will be working on dual functional polymeric nanoparticles with MRI and fluorescent sensitivities for molecular imaging of lung tumors. He will learn how to make these nanoparticles with encapsulation of superparamagnetic nanoparticles and BODIPY dye, and then functionalize the nanoparticle surface with a peptide that targets the v 6 integrins overexpressed on many lung cancer cells. The protocol is already established in my lab, and Jason will follow it to make his own particles. His main focus will be to evaluate the specificity of these nanoparticles in cell culture and their targeting specificity in tumor-bearing mice by MRI. A scrambled peptide-modified micelles will be used as a nanoparticle control, and moreover, v 6-positive H2009 cells and v 6-negative H460 cells will be used to evaluate the targeting specificity in lung cancers. Histology validation by immunostaining of v 6 integrins from lung tumor xenografts will be performed to correlate with the MR imaging data.

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:

Brent Weinberg, MD/PhD student (PhD 2001-2005). Four first-authored publications, one book chapter and multiple co-authored papers.