Cancer Imaging and Engineering Innovative Working Group

The goal of the Cancer Imaging and Engineering Innovative Working Group is to develop and apply advances in technology to the understanding, prevention, detection, diagnosis, and successful treatment of cancer. The CIE IWG uniquely brings together technology developers, cancer biologists, health professionals, and data scientists to iteratively motivate technology innovation and develop novel applications.

  • Creating and applying novel imaging and sensing hardware, software, and contrast agents to accelerate discovery, enhance diagnosis, and guide intervention.
  • Furthering the fields of tissue engineering, tumor mechanobiology, tumor mechanopathology, and realistic tumor models for improved understanding of cancer.
  • Developing and applying new computational techniques including artificial intelligence and machine learning, for modeling of cancer and analysis/ interpretation of sensor and image data.

1. 

 Shear wave elastography detects novel imaging biomarkers of aromatase inhibitor-induced joint pain: a pilot study. 

Martinez JA, Taljanovic MS, Witte RS, Nuncio Zuniga AA, Wertheim BC, Kwoh CK, Goldstein BA, Roe DJ, Chalasani P.

J Ultrason. 2021;21(84):1-6. doi: 10.15557/JoU.2021.0001. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

PMID: 33791110 Free PMC article.

2. 

 Quantitative metric for assessment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma treatment response in T1-weighted gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. 

Liau J, Vedantham S, Babiker HM, McGlothin T, Martin DR.

Ann Pancreat Cancer. 2020 Nov;3:15. doi: 10.21037/apc-20-25. Epub 2020 Nov 25.

PMID: 33367272 Free PMC article.

3. 

 Pilot Study: Texture Analysis of PET Imaging Demonstrates Changes in 18F-FDG Uptake of the Brain After Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation. 

Sawyer DM, Sawyer TW, Eshghi N, Hsu C, Hamilton RJ, Garland LL, Kuo PH.

J Nucl Med Technol. 2021 Mar;49(1):34-38. doi: 10.2967/jnmt.120.248393. Epub 2020 Oct 5.

PMID: 33020232

4. 

 Investigation of confocal microscopy for differentiation of renal cell carcinoma versus benign tissue. Can an optical biopsy be performed? 

Phung MC, Rouse AR, Pangilinan J, Bell RC, Bracamonte ER, Mashi S, Gmitro AF, Lee BR.

Asian J Urol. 2020 Oct;7(4):363-368. doi: 10.1016/j.ajur.2019.12.008. Epub 2019 Dec 24.

PMID: 32995282 Free PMC article.

5. 

 Fluorescence and Multiphoton Imaging for Tissue Characterization of a Model of Postmenopausal Ovarian Cancer. 

Sawyer TW, Koevary JW, Howard CC, Austin OJ, Rice PFS, Hutchens GV, Chambers SK, Connolly DC, Barton JK.

Lasers Surg Med. 2020 Dec;52(10):993-1009. doi: 10.1002/lsm.23251. Epub 2020 Apr 20.

PMID: 32311117

6. 

 Smartphone based on-chip fluorescence imaging and capillary flow velocity measurement for detecting ROR1+ cancer cells from buffy coat blood samples on dual-layer paper microfluidic chip. 

Ulep TH, Zenhausern R, Gonzales A, Knoff DS, Lengerke Diaz PA, Castro JE, Yoon JY.

Biosens Bioelectron. 2020 Apr 1;153:112042. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2020.112042. Epub 2020 Jan 22.

PMID: 32056660 Free PMC article.

7. 

 PIM kinases alter mitochondrial dynamics and chemosensitivity in lung cancer. 

Chauhan SS, Toth RK, Jensen CC, Casillas AL, Kashatus DF, Warfel NA.

Oncogene. 2020 Mar;39(12):2597-2611. doi: 10.1038/s41388-020-1168-9. Epub 2020 Jan 28.

PMID: 31992853 Free PMC article.

8. 

 Positive Predictive Value of Tomosynthesis-guided Biopsies of Architectural Distortions Seen on Digital Breast Tomosynthesis and without an Ultrasound Correlate. 

Vijayaraghavan GR, Newburg A, Vedantham S.

J Clin Imaging Sci. 2019 Nov 18;9:53. doi: 10.25259/JCIS_134_2019. eCollection 2019.

PMID: 31819830 Free PMC article.

9. 

 Human stroma and epithelium co-culture in a microfluidic model of a human prostate gland. 

Jiang L, Ivich F, Tahsin S, Tran M, Frank SB, Miranti CK, Zohar Y.

Biomicrofluidics. 2019 Nov 20;13(6):064116. doi: 10.1063/1.5126714. eCollection 2019 Nov.

PMID: 31768202 Free PMC article.

10. 

 Small form factor, flexible, dual-modality handheld probe for smartphone-based, point-of-care oral and oropharyngeal cancer screening. 

Uthoff RD, Song B, Sunny S, Patrick S, Suresh A, Kolur T, Gurushanth K, Wooten K, Gupta V, Platek ME, Singh AK, Wilder-Smith P, Kuriakose MA, Birur P, Liang R.

J Biomed Opt. 2019 Oct;24(10):1-8. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.24.10.106003.

PMID: 31642247 Free PMC article.

11. 

 Mechanosensing during directed cell migration requires dynamic actin polymerization at focal adhesions. 

Puleo JI, Parker SS, Roman MR, Watson AW, Eliato KR, Peng L, Saboda K, Roe DJ, Ros R, Gertler FB, Mouneimne G.

J Cell Biol. 2019 Dec 2;218(12):4215-4235. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201902101. Epub 2019 Oct 8.

PMID: 31594807 Free PMC article.

12. 

 Quantification of multiphoton and fluorescence images of reproductive tissues from a mouse ovarian cancer model shows promise for early disease detection. 

Sawyer TW, Koevary JW, Rice FPS, Howard CC, Austin OJ, Connolly DC, Cai KQ, Barton JK.

J Biomed Opt. 2019 Sep;24(9):1-16. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.24.9.096010.

PMID: 31571434 Free PMC article.

13. 

 Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer Evaluation by Magnetic Resonance Imaging after Neoadjuvant Therapy on Decision Making: Cancer Center Experience and Literature Review. 

Recio-Boiles A, Hammad H, Howell K, Kalb BT, Nfonsam VN, Scott AJ, Babiker HM, Elquza E.

J Gastrointest Cancer. 2020 Mar;51(1):254-259. doi: 10.1007/s12029-019-00246-5.

PMID: 31054106 Review.

14. 

 Quantification of Vaporised Targeted Nanodroplets Using High-Frame-Rate Ultrasound and Optics. 

Zhang G, Lin S, Leow CH, Pang KT, Hernández-Gil J, Long NJ, Eckersley R, Matsunaga T, Tang MX.

Ultrasound Med Biol. 2019 May;45(5):1131-1142. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2019.01.009. Epub 2019 Feb 28.

PMID: 30827708

15. 

 Evaluating healthcare practitioners' views on store-and-forward teledermoscopy services for the diagnosis of skin cancer. 

Janda M, Horsham C, Koh U, Gillespie N, Vagenas D, Loescher LJ, Curiel-Lewandrowski C, Hofmann-Wellenhof R, Peter Soyer H.

Digit Health. 2019 Feb 6;5:2055207619828225. doi: 10.1177/2055207619828225. eCollection 2019 Jan-Dec.

PMID: 30792879 Free PMC article.

16. 

 Point-of-care, smartphone-based, dual-modality, dual-view, oral cancer screening device with neural network classification for low-resource communities. 

Uthoff RD, Song B, Sunny S, Patrick S, Suresh A, Kolur T, Keerthi G, Spires O, Anbarani A, Wilder-Smith P, Kuriakose MA, Birur P, Liang R.

PLoS One. 2018 Dec 5;13(12):e0207493. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207493. eCollection 2018.

PMID: 30517120 Free PMC article.

17. 

 Intraoperative brain tumor resection with indocyanine green using augmented microscopy. 

Watson JR, Martirosyan N, Lemole GM, Trouard TP, Romanowski M.

J Biomed Opt. 2018 Sep;23(9):1-4. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.23.9.090501.

PMID: 30251491 Free PMC article.

18. 

 Frontiers of cancer imaging and guided therapy using ultrasound, light, and microwaves. 

Witte RS, Karunakaran C, Zuniga AN, Schmitz H, Arif H.

Clin Exp Metastasis. 2018 Aug;35(5-6):413-418. doi: 10.1007/s10585-018-9923-9. Epub 2018 Aug 4.

PMID: 30078169 Review.

19. 

 A Novel Metal-Based Imaging Probe for Targeted Dual-Modality SPECT/MR Imaging of Angiogenesis. 

Tsoukalas C, Psimadas D, Kastis GA, Koutoulidis V, Harris AL, Paravatou-Petsotas M, Karageorgou M, Furenlid LR, Moulopoulos LA, Stamopoulos D, Bouziotis P.

Front Chem. 2018 Jun 20;6:224. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2018.00224. eCollection 2018.

PMID: 29974048 Free PMC article.

20. 

 Pancreatic cancer cell detection by targeted lipid microbubbles and multiphoton imaging. 

Cromey B, McDaniel A, Matsunaga T, Vagner J, Kieu KQ, Banerjee B.

J Biomed Opt. 2018 Apr;23(4):1-8. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.23.4.046501.

PMID: 29633610

21. 

 Reproducible automated breast density measure with no ionizing radiation using fat-water decomposition MRI. 

Ding J, Stopeck AT, Gao Y, Marron MT, Wertheim BC, Altbach MI, Galons JP, Roe DJ, Wang F, Maskarinec G, Thomson CA, Thompson PA, Huang C.

J Magn Reson Imaging. 2018 Oct;48(4):971-981. doi: 10.1002/jmri.26041. Epub 2018 Apr 6.

PMID: 29630755 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.

22. 

 Emerging Breast Imaging Technologies on the Horizon. 

Vedantham S, Karellas A.

Semin Ultrasound CT MR. 2018 Feb;39(1):114-121. doi: 10.1053/j.sult.2017.09.004. Epub 2017 Sep 13.

PMID: 29317033 Free PMC article.

23. Kim S, Lee MH, Wiwasuku T, Day AS, Youngme S, Hwang DS, Yoon JY (CTOP). Human sensor-inspired supervised machine learning of smartphone-based paper microfluidic analysis for bacterial species classification. Biosens Bioelectron. 2021 SEP 15; 188:113335. DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2021.113335. 2021 May 14. PubMed PMID: 34030093; PMCID: PMC8192483.

24. Howard C, Rice PFS, Keenan M, Dominguez-Cooks J, Heusinkveld J, Hsu CH (CPCP), Barton JK (CPCP). Study of fallopian tube anatomy and mechanical properties to determine pressure limits for endoscopic exploration. J Histotechnol. 2021 SEP 09; :1-11. DOI: 10.1080/01478885.2021.1972250. 2021 Sep 9. PubMed PMID: 34496720.

25. Waldman RA, Grant-Kels JM, Curiel CN (CPCP), Curtis J, Rodríguez SG, Hu S, Kerr P, Marghoob A, Markowitz O, Pellacani G, Rabinovitz H, Rao B, Scope A, Stein JA, Swetter SM. Consensus recommendations for the use of noninvasive melanoma detection techniques based on results of an international Delphi process. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021 SEP 01; 85(3):745-749. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2019.09.046. 2019 Sep 26. PubMed PMID: 31563644.

26. Zhang J, Zhao D, Chen J, Sun Y, Yang D, Liang R (CPCP). Unsupervised learning for hyperspectral recovery based on a single RGB image. Opt Lett. 2021 AUG 15; 46(16):3977-3980. DOI: 10.1364/OL.428798. PubMed PMID: 34388789.

27. Pandey S, Snider AD, Moreno WA, Ravi H, Bilgin A (CPCP), Raghunand N. Joint total variation-based reconstruction of multiparametric magnetic resonance images for mapping tissue types. NMR Biomed. 2021 AUG 13; :e4597. DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4597. 2021 Aug 13. PubMed PMID: 34390047.

28. Tapia E, Villa-Guillen DE, Chalasani P (CTOP), Centuori S (CPCP), Roe DJ (CPCP), Guillen-Rodriguez J, Huang C, Galons JP, Thomson CA (CPCP), Altbach M (CTOP), Trujillo J, Pinto L, Martinez JA (CPCP), Algotar AM (CPCP), Chow HS (CPCP). A randomized controlled trial of metformin in women with components of metabolic syndrome: intervention feasibility and effects on adiposity and breast density. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2021 AUG 12; . DOI: 10.1007/s10549-021-06355-9. 2021 Aug 12. PubMed PMID: 34383179.

29. Zhao J, Jain M, Harris UG, Kose K, Curiel-Lewandrowski C (CPCP), Kang D (CPCP). Deep Learning-Based Denoising in High-Speed Portable Reflectance Confocal Microscopy. Lasers Surg Med. 2021 AUG 01; 53(6):880-891. DOI: 10.1002/lsm.23410. 2021 Apr 23. PubMed PMID: 33891330; PMCID: PMC8273118.

30. Nguyen CD, O'Neal PK, Kulkarni N, Yang E, Kang D (CPCP). Scattering-Based Light-Sheet Microscopy for Rapid Cellular Imaging of Fresh Tissue. Lasers Surg Med. 2021 AUG 01; 53(6):872-879. DOI: 10.1002/lsm.23361. 2020 Dec 1. PubMed PMID: 33259692; PMCID: PMC8196913.

31. Akarapipad P, Kaarj K, Liang Y, Yoon JY (CTOP). Environmental Toxicology Assays Using Organ-on-Chip. Annu Rev Anal Chem. 2021 JUL 27; 14(1):155-183. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-anchem-091620-091335. 2021 Jul 27. PubMed PMID: 33974806.

32. Suebka S, Nguyen PD, Gin A, Su J (CTOP). How Fast It Can Stick: Visualizing Flow Delivery to Microtoroid Biosensors. ACS Sens. 2021 JUL 23; 6(7):2700-2708. DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.1c00748. 2021 Jun 2. PubMed PMID: 34078073.

33. Keerthivasan MB, Galons JP, Johnson K, Umapathy L, Martin DR, Bilgin A (CPCP), Altbach MI (CTOP). Abdominal T2-Weighted Imaging and T2 Mapping Using a Variable Flip Angle Radial Turbo Spin-Echo Technique. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2021 JUL 13; . DOI: 10.1002/jmri.27825. 2021 Jul 13. PubMed PMID: 34254382.

34. Cordova R, Kiekens K, Burrell S, Drake W, Kmeid Z, Rice P, Rocha A, Diaz S, Yamada S, Yozwiak M, Nelson OL, Rodriguez GC, Heusinkveld J, Shih IM, Alberts DS (CPCP), Barton JK (CPCP). Sub-millimeter endoscope demonstrates feasibility of in vivo reflectance imaging, fluorescence imaging, and cell collection in the fallopian tubes. J Biomed Opt. 2021 JUL 01; 26(7). DOI: 10.1117/1.JBO.26.7.076001. PubMed PMID: 34216135; PMCID: PMC8253554.

35. Watson AW, Grant AD, Parker SS, Hill S, Whalen MB, Chakrabarti J, Harman MW, Roman MR, Forte BL, Gowan CC, Castro-Portuguez R, Stolze LK, Franck C, Cusanovich DA (CBP), Zavros Y (CBP), Padi M (CBP), Romanoski CE (CBP), Mouneimne G (CBP). Breast tumor stiffness instructs bone metastasis via maintenance of mechanical conditioning. Cell Rep. 2021 JUN 29; 35(13):109293. DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109293. PubMed PMID: 34192535; PMCID: PMC8312405.

36. Thompson PA, Huang C, Yang J, Wertheim BC, Roe D (CPCP), Zhang X, Ding J, Chalasani P (CTOP), Preece C, Martinez J (CPCP), Chow HS (CPCP), Stopeck AT. Sulindac, a Nonselective NSAID, Reduces Breast Density in Postmenopausal Women with Breast Cancer Treated with Aromatase Inhibitors. Clin Cancer Res. 2021 JUN 10; . DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-0732. 2021 Jun 10. PubMed PMID: 34112707.

37. Larson MC, Gmitro A, Utzinger U, Rouse AR (CTOP), Woodhead GJ (CTOP), Carlson Q, Hennemeyer CT, Barton JK (CPCP). Using FDA-approved drugs as off-label fluorescent dyes for optical biopsies: from in silico design toex vivoproof-of-concept. Methods Appl Fluoresc. 2021 JUN 04; 9(3). DOI: 10.1088/2050-6120/ac0619. 2021 Jun 4. PubMed PMID: 34044380.

38. Li Z, Fu Z, Keerthivasan M, Bilgin A (CPCP), Johnson K, Galons JP, Vedantham S (CPCP), Martin DR, Altbach MI (CTOP). Rapid high-resolution volumetric T1 mapping using a highly accelerated stack-of-stars Look Locker technique. Magn Reson Imaging. 2021 JUN 01; 79:28-37. DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2021.03.003. 2021 Mar 17. PubMed PMID: 33722634; PMCID: PMC8107135.

39. Song B, Sunny S, Li S, Gurushanth K, Mendonca P, Mukhia N, Patrick S, Gurudath S, Raghavan S, Imchen T, Leivon S, Kolur T, Shetty V, Bushan V, Ramesh R, Lima N, Pillai V, Wilder-Smith P, Sigamani A, Suresh A, Kuriakose M, Birur P, Liang R (CPCP). Mobile-based oral cancer classification for point-of-care screening. J Biomed Opt. 2021 JUN 01; 26(6). DOI: 10.1117/1.JBO.26.6.065003. PubMed PMID: 34164967; PMCID: PMC8220969.

Our Researchers

Juanita L Merchant, MD, PhD

Juanita L Merchant, MD, PhD

Interim Director, Cancer Center
Associate Director, Basic Sciences, Cancer Center
Chief, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, College of Medicine
Regents Professor
Professor, College of Medicine
Cancer Biology Program
jmerchant@arizona.edu
Photo of Dr. Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski smiling.

Clara N Curiel-Lewandrowski, MD

Interim Director of Research, Cancer Center
Co-Director, Skin Cancer Institute, Cancer Center
Professor, Medicine, College of Medicine (Dermatology)
Chief, Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine
Program Director, Dermatology Residency Program
The Alan and Janice Levin Family Endowed Chair for Excellence in Cancer Research
Cancer Prevention and Control Program
ccuriel@arizona.edu

Jennifer Kehlet Barton, PhD

Director, BIO5 Institute
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Professor, Optical Sciences
Professor, Biosystems Engineering
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair, Bioengineering
Cancer Prevention and Control Program
520-626-0314
barton@arizona.edu

Ronald M Lynch, PhD

Professor, Physiology
Associate Professor, Pharmacology
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Director, Aribi Institute
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Professor, Physiological Sciences - GIDP
Associate Director, Shared Resources
Clinical and Translational Oncology Program
520-626-2472
rlynch@u.arizona.edu

Raymond Kostuk

Euan McLeod

Leilei Peng  

Marek Romanowski

Urs Utzinger         

Jeong-Yeol Yoon   

Jean-Philippe Galons 

Billie Bixby

Ralph Drosten

Gene Alexander        

Hong Hua

Travis Sawyer

Kobus Barnard

Nirav Merchant

John Heusinkveld

Geoffrey Rubin

Mark Van Dyke