Dr. Narasimhan Rajaram

My lab is interested in studying the relationship between tumor oxygenation and metabolism and the role that this relationship plays in promoting cancer progression, metastasis, and treatment resistance. To study this relationship, we develop clinically translational quantitative optical imaging technologies that can measure these two key hallmarks of cancer in pre-clinical animal models and patients. Optical imaging can provide a noninvasive, nondestructive, and quantitative picture of the molecular, functional, and morphological status of tissue across length scales ranging from nanometers to centimeters. Several molecules in tissue that are known to undergo changes with disease progression have unique spectral features when interacting with light. These interactions can take the form of light scattering, absorption, or fluorescence. Our techniques exploit these interactions to shed new light on cancer progression, response to therapy, and long-term tumor outcomes. Over the last 5 years, our lab has focused primarily on the themes of treatment resistance and cancer progression. Specifically, we have pursued two specific goals: 1. Use high-resolution optical microscopy to determine the mechanisms underlying the development of radiation resistance and cancer progression; and 2. Develop optical spectroscopy as a clinically translational tool to noninvasively monitor treatment response in animal models and patients. Our lab has received an NSF CAREER award, an NCI R01, and a concept award from the DoD Lung Cancer Research Program.