TOPIC: Molecular Imaging, Image-Guided Drug Delivery, and Theranostics
SPEAKER: Prof. Weibo Cai, University of Wisconsin - Madison, USA
TIME:May 9 (Monday)AM10:00 
LOCATION: Room 518, Chemistry Building A (化学楼5楼会议室)
INVITER: Prof. Xinyuan Zhu (朱新远教授)
 

Abstract: The Molecular Imaging and Nanotechnology Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin - Madison (http://mi.wisc.edu/) is mainly focused on three areas: 1) development of multimodality molecular imaging agents; 2) nanotechnology and its biomedical applications; and 3) molecular therapy of cancer. In this talk, I will present our recent work on molecular imaging and image-guided drug delivery of cancer and some cardiovascular diseases with peptides, proteins, and a variety of nanomaterials. The primary imaging techniques used in these studies are positron emission tomography (PET), photoacoustic tomography (PAT), optical imaging, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Some the major molecular targets that we are investigating are CD105 (i.e. endoglin), VEGFR, CD146, c-Met, integrin αvβ3, among others. The nanomaterials that will be discussed in this presentation may include silica-based nanoparticles, nano-graphene oxide, micelles, iron oxide nanoparticles, 2-D nanomaterials, hybrid nanomaterials, among many others. Lastly, the emerging paradigm of intrinsically radiolabeled nanomaterials will be discussed as multi-modal PET/MRI, PET/PAT imaging agents, as well as for theranostic applications.

Biography: Weibo Cai is an Associate Professor of Radiology, Medical Physics, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He received a BS degree in Chemistry from Nanjing University, China (1995) and a PhD degree in Chemistry from the University of California, San Diego (2004). Between 2005 and 2008, Dr. Cai did his post-doctoral research in the laboratory of Prof. Xiaoyuan (Shawn) Chen at the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS). In February 2008, Dr. Cai joined the University of Wisconsin - Madison as a Biomedical Engineering Cluster Hire, and was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure in 2014. Dr. Cai’s research at UW-Madison (http://mi.wisc.edu/) is primarily focused on molecular imaging and nanotechnology.

Dr. Cai has authored >190 peer-reviewed articles, >20 book chapters, and >200 conference abstracts. His publications have been cited > 10,000 times with an H-index of >50. He has edited 3 books, guest-edited ~10 special topic issues for various scientific journals, and given >140 talks. Dr. Cai has received many awards, including the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) Young Professionals Committee Best Basic Science Award (2007), the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) Springer Prize (2011 & 2013), American Cancer Society Research Scholar (2013-2017), NIH R01, among many others. Dr. Cai has served on the Editorial Board of >20 scientific journals, performed peer review for >130 journals, and participated in many grant review panels (NIH, DOD, NSF, Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas [CPRIT], Susan G. Komen, Prostate Cancer Canada, many European grants, etc.). He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (http://www.ajnmmi.us), a journal that was launched in 2011 and fully indexed in PubMed.

Dr. Cai is an active member of several scientific societies and he has served on various committees in these societies such as SNMMI Committee on Awards, SNMMI Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Council (currently as the Vice-President Elect), etc. Dr. Cai’s trainees at UW - Madison have received > 50 awards to date, such as the 2012 Berson-Yalow Award from SNMMI, multiple Young Investigator Awards from SNMMI, and several post-doctoral fellowships.