Mark Zuckerberg's Initiative Supports Cutting-Edge Tumor Research in Dresden
Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Meta, along with his wife Priscilla Chan, continues to back innovative research in Dresden, Germany. Recently, an international team at the National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden (NCT/UCC) received additional funding of 2.2 million US dollars (roughly two million euros) for a project focused on enhancing imaging techniques to spot minute tumors with pinpoint accuracy.
Conventional imaging methods struggle to penetrate deep into tissue layers, leading to concerns about whether all impacted tissue has been removed during surgery. This issue is crucial for patients, as well as preserving healthy tissue and organs.
The researchers in Dresden, London, Los Angeles, and their colleague are exploring the properties of short-wavelength infrared light, which has the potential to offer a clearer view of tissue structures by penetrating deeper and causing less dispersion. Group leader Oliver Bruns believes that "unparalleled sensitivity," combined with fluorescent dyes, cutting-edge cameras, and short-wavelength infrared light, may help visualize even a single cancer cell. The goal is to utilize this technology to precisely identify and eliminate the smallest tumor fragments.
Previously, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative supported the team's work in Dresden with one million US dollars in 2021. The group is one of nine selected projects from approximately 300 funding applications, and the continued support acknowledges the impressive results from the previous funding round. With the new funding, the team plans to develop custom probes and a revolutionary microscope capable of surpassing the limitations of conventional microscope technology.
Women researchers, including members from Dresden, London, and Los Angeles, are making significant contributions to the project. The additional funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will aid female researchers in advancing their work on innovative imaging techniques.
Insights
- Near-Infrared (NIR) Light Innovations in Medicine: Innovative use of NIR light, along with fluorescent dyes, can improve tumor visibility during surgeries, providing precise differentiation between cancerous and healthy tissue. NIR light also has applications in non-invasive brain imaging and neurological monitoring [2].
- Swarm Learning for Improved Breast Cancer Diagnostics: The ODELIA project employs swarm learning with weak supervision to manage the rising demand for breast cancer diagnostic imaging by utilizing AI models trained on distributed datasets [3].
- Quantum Technologies with Hexagonal Boron Nitride: Researchers are working on engineering robust quantum systems using hexagonal boron nitride for integrated quantum photonics [4].
- Patient-Specific Pharmacogenomics in Colorectal Cancer: A study of tissue samples from colorectal cancer patients revealed the impact of overexpressed SLC7A11 and SLC3A2 genes, suggesting a potential for pharmacological blockage of ferroptosis as a promising avenue for cancer therapy [5].
Dive Deeper
[1] Coulter, S. (2022, November 3). Dresden researchers funded for cancer detection. [article online]. URL: https://nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid/43706/
[2] Ramanathan, A. (2021, March 22). Nonlinear NIR optics in medicine, telecommunication, and biotechnology. [article online]. URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7888291/
[3] Consortium, O. (2021, April 22). ODELIA: Pioneering swarm learning for breast cancer detection. [article online]. URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169393221002839
[4] Bai, Y., et al. (2021, December 15). Real-space engineering of strongly interactive single-defect quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride. [article online]. URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03987-w
[5] Liu, L., et al. (2022, February 15). XCT1-dependent Chemoresistance in Colorectal Cancer via Regulating Autophagy and Ferroptosis. [article online]. URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/14/4/1210
