Join us TOMORROW Wednesday, September 30th, 2015 for our talk with Dr. Kim , Associate Professor at the Department of Medicine and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh as part of our Bioengineering Fall 2015 Seminar Series! Coffee and cookies are served.
For visitors from outside Mason - Parking is best in the Shenandoah Parking Garage ( Bldg. 43 on the campus map). The seminar is in the Krasnow Institute of Advanced Studies (Bldg. 32), Room 229:  http://info.gmu.edu/Maps/FairfaxMap14lttrClr

Bioengineering Seminar
September 30th, 2015 from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Krasnow Institute, Room 229 (Note the Room Change)

Speaker: Kang Kim, PhD - Associate Professor, Department of Medicine and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
Seminar title: Mechanical, compositional, and functional assessment of blood vessels using combined ultrasound imaging modalities

Biography
Kang Kim, PhD is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Bioengineering at The University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kim directs the Multi-modality Biomedical Ultrasound Imaging Laboratory (http://www.pitt.edu/~kangkim/) at the Center for Ultrasound Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics (http://www.imagingtherapeutics.pitt.edu/) - home to research projects focused on basic science, pre-clinical studies and clinical translation of medical instrumentation, signal/image processing algorithms and imaging contrast/therapeutic agents. Dr. Kim’s research seeks to develop and translate state-of-the-art noninvasive ultrasound imaging technologies to (1) improve disease diagnosis (2) guide therapeutic strategies and (3) evaluate therapeutic efficacy, especially in cardiovascular applications. His research emphasis is on development and application of multi-modality imaging systems that are based on a fundamental understanding of how sound and light interact with soft tissues, and are capable of characterizing the structural, mechanical, compositional properties of tissues and organs and their underlying biological activities in cellular level. Dr. Kim earned his Bachelor’s in Educational Physics at Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea.  He then went to the University of Pierre & Marie Curie (Paris 6) in Paris, France for his Master’s in Physics before he moved to the United States for his PhD in Acoustics at Pennsylvania State University. He then won a postdoctoral fellowship in Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Michigan.
Abstract
Atherosclerotic plaques characterized by a large, soft lipid core and a thin fibrous cap have been identified as “vulnerable plaques,” or “rupture-prone plaques.” In addition, ongoing inflammation often makes the plaques unstable and vulnerable to rupture. Identification of these potentially fatal plaques before their disruption is critical in clinics and will help predict vascular risk and guide therapies. This presentation will introduce three novel, noninvasive imaging techniques that provide mechanical and compositional tissue characterization and inflammation activity that are co-registered with morphological B-scan images of atherosclerotic plaques. Ultrasound elasticity imaging (UEI) based on phase-sensitive speckle tracking estimates mechanical strain developed inside a blood vessel wall. Ultrasound-induced thermal strain imaging (TSI) offers a mean to noninvasively characterize vessel composition and identify rupture-prone plaques that have a large, lipid-rich core. TSI enhances contrast between water and lipid-bearing tissue by measuring thermal (temporal) strain caused by sound speed change immediately after an ultrasound-induced temperature change of ~1○C with 0.1% strain sensitivity. Finally, photoacoustic molecular imaging (PMI) using bio-conjugated nanoparticles can identify the overexpressed inflammatory biomarkers. Underlying physics, signal/image processing, and system design of these imaging modalities, and their in vivo pre-clinical applications will be discussed.


Claudia Borke
Academic Program Coordinator
Volgenau School of Engineering, Department of Bioengineering
3800 Nguyen Engineering Building, 1G5
4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone: (703) 993-4190
Fax: (703) 993-2077