简介

The aim of my research is to develop new approaches for diagnosis of various cardiovascular diseases and cancer, and to use them to further the understanding of the pathogenesis of these disorders to formulate novel therapies. We has developed various antibody and carbohydrate based in vivo imaging methods for detection of various heart diseases, cancer and athersclerosis. To improve the antibody based in vivo diagnostic methods, negative charge-modification of antibodies that reduced non-specific ionic interaction between the basic positively charged antibody and the negatively-charged acidic cell surface residues was developed. We are also interested in immunoliposome- targeted drug and gene delivery technologies. “Cellular bandage” concept to repair cell membrane lesions was developed at my Center. Furthermore, pathogenesis of autoimmune myocarditis is being investigated in light of our finding that sarcoplasmic reticular Ca++ ATPase is an autoimmunogen. Molecular biological methods are being used to isolate the autoimmunogenic peptide and once we have identified this autoimmunogenic peptide, it will be used to develop a strategy to abrogate the autoimmunity. We are developing noninvasive methods to diagnostically differentiate apoptotic from necrotic myocardial cell death. Lastly, we are also developing in vitro immunoassays that are at least 10,000 times more sensitive than the standard immunoassays. This should permit detection of pathogenic antigens in sera of patients with very high efficiency and sensitivity.