Chemical imaging targeting cancer etiology

Utilizing years of experience in analytical chemistry and an interest in bioengineering, the Bohn Group’s research efforts focus on better understanding the molecular etiology of cancer, in particular breast and colorectal cancer. A critical stumbling block to the design of more effective cancer therapies lies in building a picture of how different parts of tumors respond to drugs over time.

We are developing powerful new imaging tools to map the molecular characteristics of cancer cells in space and time, through cross-platform correlation of confocal Raman microscopic (CRM) and mass spectrometric images (MSI). We obtain detailed chemical and structural maps that combine information about disparate molecular components, for example correlated changes in protein expression and lipid organization, which can only be studied in isolation with current imaging technology. Combining chemical images from Raman scattering and mass spectrometry is neither straightforward nor obvious, but it has the potential to transform how cancer biologists explore the molecular and cellular bases of cancer.