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UC IRVINEÃS BECKMAN LASER INSTITUTE AND CLINIC RECEIVES $4.1 MILLION TO EXPAND LASER BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH
Researchers Worldwide Using InstituteÃs Innovative Optical and Laser Facilities
Irvine, Calif., June 18, 1998 ó UC IrvineÃs Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic has been awarded $4.1 million to expand a program that allows medical researchers from around the world access to the most advanced laser and optical imaging technologies.
The highly competitive award supports the instituteÃs Laser Microbeam and Medical Program for the next five years, and represents a significant increase from the programÃs previous grant, which totaled $2 million over three years. Funds for the program were provided by the National Center for Research Resources, a NIH division that supports about 60 U.S. biotechnology centers.
Researchers in the program employ lasers, high-resolution microscopes and other optical technologies to examine body tissues, cells and molecules within cells. Research sheds light on the cause ofóand treatment foróbreast cancer, brain tumors, wounds, genetic disorders and immunological diseases among other maladies.
"The grant allows us to explore new optical methods and establish a foundation for developing the next generation of medical technology," said Dr. Bruce Tromberg, director of the laser program.
The program was founded in 1979 by Beckman Laser Institute Director Michael Berns to study how light affects cellular activity and interacts with molecules within those cells. "By understanding how light interacts with cells, we can better study how cells function, as well as advance the construction of practical bioengineering devices," Berns said.
For example, laser program scientists study how light can be used to increase diagnostic accuracy by interacting with tumors buried in tissues like the brain and breast. Researchers also work on therapies based on special interactions between light, molecules and cells. "We also can manipulate particles and structures within living cells, using lasers like tweezers and scissors for a type of cellular microsurgery," Berns said.
While Tromberg heads the program, senior researchers are drawn from several UCI departments spanning the College of Medicine, the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and schools of engineering, biological sciences and physical sciences. Laser program faculty include physicist Zhongping Chen, molecular biologist Vickie LaMorte, mechanical engineer Vasan Venugopalan, photochemist Tatiana Krasieva and coordinator Debbi Gordon.
Beyond Irvine, researchers come from as far as Europe and the Middle East to use the programÃs labs. The log of researchers reads like a "WhoÃs Who" among scientific institutions: University of Zurich; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; Technion, Haifa, Israel; University of Trondheim, Norway; Harvard Medical School; MIT; Massachusetts General Hospital; the University of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The program has tailored some equipment specifically for a researcherÃs needs. "Some of our technologies are one-of-a-kind," Tromberg said. "Having them in the context of the instituteÃs medical clinic, veterinary practice suite and cell biology facility make the entire program unique."
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