Sincerely, Dennis L. Matthews, Director
Inside:
CBST awards funding..……..1 CBST scientists receive
Concurrent with this issue of the CBST awards………………….……..3 Newsletter, we are Celebrate forthe CURE….…4 preparing for our Graduates student retreat.…4 Renewal Site Visit by the National Science Nature covers Biophotonics..5 Foundation (NSF). New Faces at CBST…….….6 This is important since Picoquant Workshop…….....6 it will lead to NSF CBST goes to JAPAN….…..7 approving our 2nd fiveyear funding cycle as an official NSF Science & Technology Center. We are also
In the area of cancer, the Center will continue to sponsor the development of laser tweezer Raman spectroscopy to perform label-free, non-destructive identification and analysis of human leukemic cells (with cofunding from UCD). CBST will support the use of real-time hyperspectral and multimodal endoscopy, as well as timeresolved, laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (tr-LIFS), and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) – to perform optical characterization and biopsy of tissue in vivo. As many Biophotonic techniques can be employed to characterize, locate, or track malignant cells, they are likely to be important tools for research in stem cells & regenerative medicine. CBST will fund several projects that will use Raman spectroscopy to distinguish embryonic stem cells from other differentiatied cells; tumor stem cells in breast cancer; and specific hematopoetic stem cells that may be able to repair sites of ischemic injury in the vascular system.
An additional project seeks to validate the stem cell hypothesis in glioblastoma multiforme, by developing functionalized quantum dots to label tumor stem cells in tissue, and eventually delivering a therapeutic agent of specifically treat these cells. In the area of vascular disease, in addition to the stem cell vascular repair project mentioned above, another project aims to detect vulnerable plaques through a combination of optical and nuclear detection methods. Vulnerable plaques are a principal cause of heart attacks. Finally in the area of infectious disease, we are developing real-time optical microscopy tools and combining them with high-resolution electron microscopy to image the host-viral lifecycle. We are planning a 1-day science and technology symposium in the first week of April to promote interaction among all of the project participants. At this symposium, the project leaders will present their project plans and results. Finally, there are several smaller projects not listed here and there are a number of additional projects that, funding permitting, the Center expects to initiate later in the year.

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