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Volume 5, Issue 5(Suppl) OMICS J Radiol
ISSN: 2167-7964 ROA, an open access journal
Page 47
Medical Imaging 2016
October 20-21, 2016
conferenceseries.com
October 20-21, 2016 Chicago, USA
International Conference on
Medical Imaging & Diagnosis
Molecular imaging in the era of precision medicine
Precision medicine is an advanced procedure for disease treatment, prevention, diagnosis and, formulated around each
individual’s variability in genes, environment and life style, including nutrition. Precision medicine has made advances in
diseases such as cancer, but the ultimate goal is to apply the approach to other diseases.With genomics, proteomics andmolecular
diagnostics, molecular imaging is well positioned to be a major driver of the precision medicine initiative. As a non-invasive
tool, multi-modality molecular imaging excels at revealing quantitative information on the cellular and molecular pathways
underpinning diseases on an individualized patient basis. Advancements in molecular imaging also provide new and specific
ways to detect disease at early and potentially curable stages of disease. Molecular imaging can also identify which patients are
likely to respond to certain therapies, from those less likely to respond. In this paradigm, molecular imaging has a huge role to
play in accelerating and advancing the field of precision medicine towards more cost-effective healthcare. Our multi-modality
molecular imaging research addresses targeted imaging of both the tumor and the tumor microenvironment (TME) and its
associated stroma. In this context, we are studying mechanisms of therapeutic intervention within a heterogeneous tumor and
TME. A theranostic approach to cancer therapy, where live monitoring of treatment, is visualized by molecular PET imaging
of anticancer drugs. Such imaging data is used to guide location-dependent proteomic analysis within a heterogeneous tumor
volume. This combined approach reveals information on individual drug resistance driven by alterations in the proteome of
cancerous legions. The concept of imaging both tumors and the associated immune cell environment will also be highlighted.
Biography
Dr. Zweit is a professor of Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Molecular Pathology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Chemistry. He is the Director of the Center
for Molecular Imaging and a senior member of the Massey Cancer Center at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. He leads an inter-disciplinary and
inter-collaborative molecular imaging and nanomedicine research program that emphasizes multi-modality molecular imaging approaches to study biochemical and
biological pathways in vivo. Professor Zweit’s research interests include the development of paradigms for molecular imaging and nanotechnology strategies for
preclinical and clinical translational research in cancer, neuroscience and immunotherapy. Dr. Zweit is internationally recognized for his work in molecular imaging
of cancer drug development, and conducted the “world’s first” Molecular PET Imaging clinical trial of Anti-angiogenic therapy in cancer patients (Journal National
Cancer Institute 2002 & 2006).
Jamal Zweit
Virginia Commonwealth University, USA
Jamal Zweit, OMICS J Radiol 2016, 6:5(Suppl)