Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Focused on Therapy Response

Faculty

Jianghong Rao, Ph.D. Co-Investigator: Project 5 Assistant Professor in Radiology Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS) Stanford University Radiology Phone: (650) 736-8563 Fax: (650) 736-7925 Email: jrao@stanford.edu

Investigator: Project 6, Assistant Professor in Radiology - Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS) (Stanford)
Dr. Rao is an Assistant Professor in Radiology and Bio-X and is focused on molecular imaging research at the interface of chemistry and cell biology. He trained initially under Dr. George Whitesides in synthetic organic chemistry at Harvard, and then under Roger Tsien in cell biology/pharmacology at UCSD. He represents that part of the molecular imaging research chain in which fundamental assays are developed for the field. He is studying a new assay to image endogenous mRNA levels in living subjects utilizing fluorescence and bioluminescence optical imaging. These assays may help to better understand cancer biology and to develop and test better anti-cancer therapeutics in pre-clinical models. Another ongoing effort in his lab is to design and synthesize small fluorescent molecules that can work in both living cells and living animals to report specific biological events such as gene expression, and protease function. He also pursues the design and synthesis of nanoparticle-based molecular probes (nanosensors) for in vivo imaging of biological functions, especially tumor detection. Overall, his research program fosters a strong link between chemistry, cancer biology, and nanoscience.

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