Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory School of Medicine Atlanta, Georgia
Joseph M. Pettit Endowed Chair Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering
Improving immunotherapy in breast cancer.
Chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy, which cultivates a patient’s own immune cells so that they recognize and target tumors, is highly effective in blood cancers but less effective in solid cancers like breast cancer. The primary challenge in breast cancer is that CAR-T cells fail to penetrate the tumor, which prevents them from working effectively. Dr. Emelianov aims to overcome biological barriers to cell therapies by enhancing the delivery and infiltration of immune T cells to targeted tissue to generate a more powerful immune response against breast cancer.
Dr. Emelianov and his team have shown that T cells can be labeled with nanoparticles. Leveraging the unique properties of the nanoparticle, the team can image and track the cells – a strategy that allows the team to assess tumor infiltration by the T cells and monitor therapy progression.
In the coming year, the team will continue to optimize the synthesis of the nanoparticles to improve their imaging properties. They will further optimize their labeling techniques to preserve T cell function and validate their image-guided therapy in engineered T cells. Their results may provide a way to customize and improve immunotherapy, predict outcomes, and plan a better treatment.
Dr. Stanislav Emelianov is a Joseph M. Pettit Endowed Chair, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is also appointed at Emory University School of Medicine where he is affiliated with Winship Cancer Institute, Department of Radiology, and other clinical units. Furthermore, Dr. Emelianov is Director of the Ultrasound Imaging and Therapeutics Research Laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology focused on the translation of diagnostic imaging & therapeutic instrumentation, and nanobiotechnology for clinical applications.
Dr. Emelianov’s career has been devoted to the development of advanced imaging methods, assisting treatment planning, and enhancing image-guided therapy and monitoring of the treatment outcome. He is specifically interested in intelligent biomedical imaging and sensing and has developed approaches for image-guided molecular therapy and therapeutic applications of ultrasound and electromagnetic energy. Dr Emelianov has pioneered several ultrasound-based imaging techniques including shear wave elasticity imaging and molecular photoacoustic imaging. Projects in Dr. Emelianov’s laboratory, which focuses on cancer and other diseases, range from molecular imaging to functional imaging and tissue differentiation, from drug delivery and release to image-guided surgery and intervention.
Dr. Emelianov is a nationally recognized expert in biomedical imaging instrumentation and nanoagents for imaging and therapy. He is the author of over 500 publications including peer-reviewed research articles, invited reviews, book chapters, and conference proceedings. In recognition of his contributions to the field, Dr. Emelianov was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. He is past Vice-President for Ultrasonics of the IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control Society, and senior member of several professional organizations.
“Because of BCRF, we are at the forefront of developing a pipeline of emerging and disruptive approaches, spanning from basic science to pre-clinical studies to clinical tools, all aimed at understanding and ultimately eradicating breast cancer.”
2011
The Delta Air Lines Award
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