LAB SPOTLIGHT

Spotlight on...

Dr. Martin G. Pomper is a Professor of Radiology with other joint appointments at Johns Hopkins Medical School. Dr. Pomper's research focuses on molecular imaging for cancer and central nervous system disease. His group develops both optical imaging reagents and radiopharmaceuticals.

One focus of Dr. Pomper's group is imaging of prostate cancer, particularly using prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) as a target. "Recently we've started functionalizing our PSMA-targeting ligands with near-infrared-emitting fluorophores. We want to be able to help patients who undergo surgery for prostate cancer by using a device in the operating room that can detect the presence of our light-emitting, tumor targeting agents, which report on any tumor that may be left behind," says Pomper. "Among the fluorophores that we've used the LI-COR dye, IRDye 800CW, seems to provide the ability to detect the tumors while maintaining suitable pharmacokinetics for use in vivo. It has worked quite well with our preclinical models."

Dr. Pomper recently purchased the LI-COR Pearl Impulse Small Animal Imaging System to assist in his research. "The Pearl is very easy to use, and it's been very helpful for our optical imaging agent development program." Dr. Pomper also feels that the optical imaging field is expanding. "I think that having devices like the Pearl, which is very easy to use, will help the in vivo fluorescence imaging field. As new, better agents and imaging devices come online, optical imaging will play an increasingly important role in surgical guidance."

We thank Dr Martin Pomper for his cancer research contributions, and are proud to consider him a "Pearl Expert."