BME People
Lianne Cartee
We are working to establish a program which we believe is unique in the country. Our students are simultaneously students at two major universities with full privileges at both universities. NC State is home to a nationally ranked College of Engineering and Veterinary School, and UNC is home to the nationally ranked UNC hospital.
David Zaharoff
Our lab focuses on the development of translatable immunotherapy delivery platforms. We use a multidisciplinary approach to engineer biomaterials-based and technology-driven localized immunotherapy strategies. Our primary focus is cancer, although we have interests in treating esophageal disorders, infectious diseases and substance abuse.
Gianmarco Pinton
Our lab is interested in the nonlinear propagation of ultrasound and mechanical waves and their applications to medical imaging and therapy. Our research has been motivated by the observation that for intense sources the speed of wave propagation is no longer constant and that this complicates the mathematical framework but it also creates new opportunities. The goal of our work consists of three parts: to develop the physics and simulation tools that describes nonlinear wave propagation, to develop new diagnostic ultrasound imaging methods, to characterize shear shock wave propagation and its relationship to traumatic brain injury.
Roger Narayan
Roger Narayan has been a Professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University since 2009. He works on the use of laser techniques such as pulsed laser deposition, laser micromachining, matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation, and laser-based additive manufacturing techniques for processing of biomaterials. Many types of laser-processed biomaterials have enhanced functionality over conventionally-processed materials and have potential applications in drug delivery, biosensing, and tissue engineering. Roger is an author of over one hundred publications as well as several book chapters on processing, characterization, and modeling of laser-processed biomaterials. He has taught biomaterials science to undergraduate students and graduate students since 2003. In addition, Roger has developed nanobiotechnology certificate programs at the University of North Carolina and at North Carolina State University. Dr. Narayan has given numerous invited research presentations and tutorials on laser-processed biomaterials at international materials engineering and medical device conferences. Earlier in his career, Roger received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award and an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award. Roger’s work is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and industry. Roger was elected as Fellow of the American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering in 2012.
H. Troy Nagle
Professor Nagle focuses his research on biomedical sensors and medical devices. In recent years he has been active in research projects in machine olfaction. He is currently President of the IEEE Sensors Council. He served as IEEE President in 1994 and was elected a Fellow of the AIMBE in 1998.
Scott Magness
Dr. Magness’ research is focused on the basic biology of intestinal stem cells, the genes that control their behavior, and translational approaches to stem cell based therapies for human disease and injury of the intestine. Furthermore his research focuses on elucidating genetic mechanisms underlying stemness and developing translational models to establish a finer understanding of stem cell-driven regeneration dynamics in homeostasis and injury. Using a combination of genetic mouse models and micro-frabricated bioengineered platforms, Dr. Magness’ team is exploiting the self-renewal capacity and multi-potency of ISCs to develop long-term ex vivo models of the intestine and colon with primary tissues. These biomimetic models offer new solutions for compound screening and cell-based therapies.
David Lalush
Dr. Lalush’s current research interest is in simultaneous PET and MR imaging, especially with respect to developing clinical applications for multimodal, quantitative imaging, primarily in cancer and neuroscience. Applications of machine learning to these problems is a key element.
Dr. Lalush develops new technologies for X-ray imaging, including techniques for preclinical X-ray molecular imaging using nanostructured contrast agents, as well as system design and optimization for tomosynthesis and CT systems based on arrayed X-ray sources. Realistic imaging simulation is a key element of all research in Dr. Lalush’s lab.
Dr. Lalush’s expertise and past areas of research include tomographic reconstruction algorithm development; SPECT and PET imaging; X-ray system design and optimization; image processing; and signal processing.
Simultaneous PET-MRI imaging
The recent development of a combined PET-MRI scanner provides new opportunities to combine two important clinical and research imaging techniques, while also introducing unique challenges. The PET-MRI scanner can acquire inherently-registered PET and MRI images simultaneously, exploiting the complementary nature of the two modalities in anatomical, structural, and functional images. In collaboration with several researchers at the UNC Biomedical Research Imaging Center, we are addressing technical issues, exploiting unique opportunities, and developing new applications for PET-MRI.
Clinical Applications of PET-MRI
We partner with clinical colleagues to perform human-subjects studies for applications of PET-MRI in cancer and neuroscience. We currently have studies examining the potential for imaging to provide early prediction of response to neoadjuvant radiation therapy in high-grade sarcomas, and the potential for PET-MRI to provide additional information to inform surgical decisions in breast cancer.
MR-guided respiratory motion correction of PET in the upper abdomen
Simultaneous PET-MRI offers the possibility of using MR images to correct PET for motion blurring. PET targets in the upper abdomen, such as the liver and pancreas, move during the PET acquisition as the patient breathes, resulting in errors in quantitative estimates of PET uptake Anatomical MRI images taken during the PET acquisition can be used to track the nonrigid motion of the organs, and these estimated motion fields may then be used as the basis for warping the PET solution into a motion-free state. We are developing MR techniques for quickly scanning the patient during PET acquisition and relating these fast images to 3D motion models of the patient acquired prior to PET scanning. We are also integrating 3D motion fields into PET reconstruction to perform the motion correction, and using efficient GPU hardware to perform the intensive computations.
Image Analysis in Combined PET and MRI
PET and MRI measure different properties of tissue; in fact, MRI may be used in different ways to obtain multiple images of tissue emphasizing different properties. We are investigating the use of pattern analysis methods on multiple PET and MRI images to classify tissues into subtypes.
Energy-resolved Quantitative Micro-CT of Metallic Contrast Agents and other materials
Using a CdTe energy-sensitive detector, it is possible to acquire micro-CT data for a series of individual energies in a single scan, producing a set of effectively monochromatic CT images. By exploiting known properties of the absorption spectra of materials in a reconstruction algorithm, we can reduce noise in such images and improve the ability to distinguish different materials by their absorption spectra. This makes possible the imaging, separation, and quantitation of multiple functionalized metallic nanoparticles in a single scan.