The Nano-Photomedicine Initiative in Oral Disease
The Nano-Photomedicine Initiative in Oral Disease
Date: 11/17/2006
Time: 1:00 pm
Location: 106G WV
Speaker: Dr. Nikos Soukos, Director, Applied Molecular Photomedicine Laboratory
The Applied Molecular Photomedicine Laboratory (AMPL) is dedicated to exploring the full potential for the use of light in medicine and surgery. A translational research laboratory, AMPL serves as a two-way transfer between basic science and patient care by developing hypotheses based on findings obtained from both basic and clinical research. AMPL has in recent years increasingly aligned its research along two original scientific themes that put great emphasis on establishing principles for a) prevention, control and/or treatment of oral infectious diseases (gingivitis, periodontitis, root canal infection) by targeting pathogenic microorganisms using photoactive drugs and light, and b) detection and treatment of very early oral cancer by using fluorescent dyes and photoactive compounds respectively. Our vision is to integrate Photomedicine with Nanotechnology (Nano-Photo-Medicine Initiative) that will result in major medical advances leading to the development of novel light-guided and light-activated multifunctional systems and smart drugs for early detection, as well as for facilitating targeted drug delivery, effectiveness of therapy, and real-time monitoring of drug action. Our major research accomplishments in the field of photomedicine and our preliminary efforts towards the realization of the Nano-Photo-Medicine Initiative will be presented in this lecture.