Two researchers at WashU Medicine Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) were awarded grants from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for novel uses of positron emission tomography (PET) in cancer imaging and therapy. Both members of MIR’s Precision Radiotheranostics Translation Center, the investigators aim to advance innovative cancer-tracking technologies using the funding.
Yongjian Liu, PhD, a professor of radiology, and his collaborators received a $3 million grant to evaluate whether their PET radiotracer can noninvasively track immune cells linked to tumor progression and treatment response, and then test the technology in patients with head and neck cancers.
Patrícia M. Ribeiro Pereira, PhD, an assistant professor of radiology, received $3.2 million for her project to identify biomarkers that could predict treatment response and help avoid unnecessary side effects from ineffective treatments in patients with advanced breast cancer, who often become resistant to standard therapies over time.
Read more from WashU Medicine Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology.