【Title】Imaging cancer glutamine metabolism

【Time】April 10, 2017, (Monday), 13:30PM

【Venue】Med-X 218, Xuhui Campus

【Speaker】Rong Zhou, PhD, Research Associate Professor of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104 USA

Website: https://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g334/p4498

【Inviter】 Prof. Jun Zhao

【Abstract】

This lecture will discuss our recent work of understanding glutamine metabolism in aggressive cancers by in vivo imaging approaches, specifically, small animal positron emission tomography (PET) and chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI techniques. Since many aggressive cancers, such as lung, pancreas and triple negative breast cancers engage in and are dependent on glutamine metabolism via glutaminolysis pathway, small molecule drugs targeting the rate-limiting enzyme of this pathway are being evaluated in multicenter clinical trials across the US. I will discuss how the ¹⁸F-fluoroglutamine PET can report the cellular glutamine pool size, while the GluCEST MRI enables estimation of cellular glutamate level. These clinical translatable imaging techniques provide a path towards personalized medicine in cancer treatment.

【Biography】

Rong Zhou graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University with B. S. in Biomedical Engineering (BME-1987). She joined the BME Program at Shanghai First Medical University before leaving for the US to pursue an interdisciplinary graduate training in pharmaceutical science and magnetic resonance, and earned PhD in Biophysics from theState University of New York (SUNY, Buffalo-1997). Upon completing postdoc training in 2001, she won a competitive Scientist Development Award to start her own lab in the Department of Radiology,University of Pennsylvania. Her research aims at integrating imaging techniques with the development of new therapeutic approaches, defining a clear path from preclinical research in animal models to clinical translation. The integrated approach has exploited cancers’ unique metabolic signatures and revealed the ability of stem cells to repair the failing heart. Dr. Zhou has published over 65 peer-reviewed journal articles, several of them in high impact, translation-oriented journals such as Cancer Research, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, PNAS and Nano Today as corresponding author. The competitiveness of her research has enabled her to secure funding from the federal government (NIH and the Department of Defense), Pennsylvania State and private foundations.