10/11/2021
By Michael Oumano
The Kennedy College of Sciences, Department of Physics, invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Michael Oumano on “Gold Nanoparticles as Theranostic Agents.”
Ph.D. Candidate: Michael Oumano
Defense Date: Monday, Oct. 25, 2021
Time: 3 to 4 p.m. EST
Location: This will be a virtual defense via Microsoft Teams. Those interested in attending should contact michael_oumano@student.uml.edu and committee advisor, Hengyong_Yu@uml.edu, at least 24 hours prior to the defense to request access to the meeting.
Committee Chair (Advisor): Hengyong Yu, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UMass Lowell
Committee Members:
- Erno Sajo, Professor, Department of Physics and Applied Physics, UMass Lowell
- Wilfred Ngwa, Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins University
Brief Abstract: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have demonstrated the potential to revolutionize cancer diagnosis and treatment. Their high x-ray attenuation coefficient, vascular retention, and ability to be functionalized make them excellent agents for both image contrast enhancement in computed tomography (CT) as well as therapeutic dose enhancement in radiation therapy. The first objective of this work was to visualize and quantify AuNPs in a human-sized phantom, for the first time, with a clinical CT scanner. The second objective was to use deep learning to improve detection and quantification. The third and final objective was to characterize AuNP-induced therapeutic dose enhancement in a three-dimensional in vitro tumor model.