BME PhD Prospectus Defense - Cari Meisel

  • Starts: 2:00 pm on Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Title: "Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Diagnosis of Calcific Aortic Valve Disease" Committee: Joyce Wong (Advisor, Chair) - BU BME Allison Dennis - BU BME Tyrone Porter - BU ME Frederick Schoen - Brigham and Women's Hospital Dimitrios Mitsouras - Brigham and Women's Hospital Abstract: Aortic valve stenosis, caused by calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD), is the most common valvular heart disease in aging populations of the developed world. One approach to reducing the CAVD burden is to detect the disease earlier and thereby reduce the need for costly aortic valve replacements; however, existing diagnostic methods are unsuitable for early-stage disease detection. Fortunately, the growing understanding of characteristics of early-stage CAVD may allow for earlier diagnosis using targeted contrast agents and medical imaging. The primary goal of this project is to develop a novel contrast agent for MRI to aid in early detection of CAVD by using superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) targeted to hydroxyapatite, a primary disease feature. A secondary goal is to explore potential therapeutic uses of this contrast agent. Development of this contrast agent will occur in three stages: 1) particles will be fabricated and characterized, 2) binding to hydroxyapatite will be optimized, and 3) the potential diagnostic and therapeutic properties of the functionalized SPIONs will be assessed. Results from this project could impact the field of CAVD by providing a diagnostic test to identify the disease earlier, particularly in patients known to have relevant risk factors. This may overall improve patient prognosis, help predict the risk of moderate to severe disease, aid in identification of targets for future therapeutics, and enable early treatment options not currently available to patients.
Location:
44 Cummington Mall, Room 401