Gastroenterology
Early detection of precancerous lesions and intramucosal cancer of the esophagus.
For several decades, the dismal statistic for pancreatic cancer patients has remained constant with a five-year survival rate of just 5%. In collaboration with Drs. Stephen Pereira of the University College London and Brian Pogue from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College, our group is embarking on a project to develop an imaging- and mechanism-based combination therapy for pancreatic tumors. In this therapy, a secondary treatment is administered to either modulate photosensitizer concentration in tumor cells, to develop chemistries to specifically deliver photosensitizers to target cells, or to nullify any tumor survival responses following PDT.
Norman Nishioka
Gαi2-deficient mice develop colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Our studies demonstrate a crosstalk between Gαi2 and TGF-beta signaling pathways by regulation of a novel Smad phosphatase expression.
