LAB SPOTLIGHT

Spotlight on...

Dr H. Charles Manning is an Assistant Professor of Radiology at Vanderbilt University, where he uses non-invasive molecular imaging to monitor disease progression and response to therapy. Manning's group, which includes both chemists and biologists, is part of the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science. The Institute houses around 100 individuals engaged in imaging science research, and about 1/3 of those researchers perform preclinical and human imaging.

Dr Manning's research interests include detection of cancer and understanding of cancer biomarkers within the context of therapeutic response. Much of his research focuses on development of cancer probes for imaging. His group primarily works with colorectal and breast cancer, and they use a variety of imaging modalities, such as MRI, PET, and SPECT.

Dr Manning's group uses their LI-COR Pearl Impulse Small Animal Imaging System for various optical imaging studies, including preclinical xenograft studies. "One of the larger studies that we've conducted using the Pearl utilizes a custom-labeled monoclonal-antibody probe developed in our laboratory. This agent targets TGF-beta expression. Investigators in the Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology are using that probe to look at TGF-beta in bone, and in and around tumors that may be in the bone, and that's been very fruitful with the Pearl. Specifically we have evaluated a number of dyes to label this antibody with, but the most successful we have used so far has been the IRDye 800CW dye." They find that the Pearl gives them greater sensitivity and they can detect the presence of TGF-beta at lower quantities compared to other available instrumentation. They also use the Pearl system's multichannel capabilities to view dyes activated by MMP at different wavelengths.

Dr Manning is impressed with how easy the Pearl is to use. "Ease of use is definitely a very positive attribute. The fact that you can walk up to it and get in and get out is a real advantage. Also the ease of processing the data is something that we hear a lot about, and the visual impressions the images make. The Pearl is pretty straightforward; you can see the data and get right at it." Manning's group has also used several of LI-COR's optical probes and IRDye fluorophores. "We always offer the LI-COR dyes because we like their chemistry and the spectroscopy; they tend to be our go-to dyes."

We thank Dr Manning for his contributions to optical imaging and cancer research, and we are proud to consider him a "Pearl Expert."