Optical Molecular Probes, Imaging and Drug Delivery (OMP)

12 April 2015 – 15 April 2015 OSA Virtual Event

OMP addresses the exciting and timely convergence of optical physics, photonics technology, nanoscience and photochemistry with drug delivery, non-invasive diagnostics and clinical medicine.

This multidisciplinary topical meeting will highlight recent advances in this rapidly evolving area with a goal of stimulating new ideas toward novel strategies for molecular probe development, site-specific drug delivery, monitoring treatment response, and clinical translation to improve diagnosis or treatment of diseases. Areas to be covered include, but are not limited to, novel molecular probe design, applications of smart molecular probes in basic and applied research, endogenous and exogenous optical molecular biomarkers, multimodal imaging, advances in instrumentation and algorithms for optical molecular imaging, molecular and functional imaging of normal and diseased tissue, image-guided drug delivery, drug screening and monitoring therapeutic response. Broad participation by experts, postdoctoral fellows and students is encouraged.


  1. Optical visualization/detection of biomolecular processes and pathways
    • Photoacoustics and advanced microscopy techniques such as quantitative phase imaging, multiphoton, SHG, FRET, FLIM, SRS, pump-probe and CARS
  2. Reporters and contrast agents for fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging: endogenous and exogenous
    • genetically introduced proteins
    • “smart” molecular probes
    • nanoparticle probes
  3. Advanced optical molecular imaging instrumentation for assays and pre-clinical models of disease
  4. Novel tools for image data analysis and reconstruction
  5. Optical monitoring of specific delivery, localization, and action of drugs and contrast agents including PDT
  6. Quantitative validation methods for optical molecular imaging
  7. Multi-modal molecular imaging techniques
    • photoacoustics and combinations of optics with MRI, X-ray, radio-diagnostics
  8. Clinical translation of optical molecular imaging, spectroscopy and image guided therapy
Eric Betzig, Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USAImaging Life at High Spatiotemporal Resolution, Plenary
Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry 2014

Tayyaba Hasan, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, USAPhotodynamic Therapy (PDT): A Photochemical Slice of Clinical Biophotonics, Plenary

W.E. Moerner, Stanford Univ., USAPupil Plane Modulation to Extract Information from Single-Molecule Emitters for Super-Resolution Microscopy, Plenary
Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry 2014

Martin Booth, University of OxfordUnited KingdomAdaptive Optics for Microscopy and Nanoscopy in Thick Tissue Specimens, Invited

Pilar Garcia-Allende, Technische Universität MünchenGermanyNear-Infrared Fluorescence Molecular Guidance in Oncologic Surgery and Surveillance Endoscopy, Invited

Elizabeth Hillman, Columbia UniversityUnited StatesSwept Confocally-Aligned Planar Excitation' (SCAPE) Microscopy for High Speed Volumetric Imaging in Behaving Animals', Invited

Raz Jelinek, Ben Gurion University of the NegevIsraelCarbon Dots for Biological Imaging, Invited

Dmitri Lapotko, Rice UniversityUnited StatesNanolook at Cancer: Can We Explode It?, Invited

Yang Liu, University of PittsburghUnited StatesImaging Nuclear Architecture at the Nanoscale for Cancer Detection and Prognosis, Invited

Mary-Ann Mycek, University of MichiganUnited StatesClinical Translation of Optical Molecular Imaging to Tissue Engineering: Opportunities & Challenges, Invited

Gijs van Soest, Thoraxcenter Erasmus MCNetherlandsOptics for Arteries – Imaging of Atherosclerosis and Coronary Interventions", Invited

Sergei Vinogradov, University of PennsylvaniaUnited StatesPhosphorescence Lifetime Microscopy of Oxygen, Invited

Jennifer West, Duke UniversityUnited StatesOptically-controlled Drug Delivery, Invited

Brian Wilson, University Health NetworkCanadaMultifunctional Optical Nanoparticles for Cancer Theranostics, Invited

Roger Zemp, University of AlbertaCanadaIn Vivo Multispectral Photoacoustic Imaging of Gene Expression using Engineered Reporters, Invited
General Chairs
Paul French, Imperial College London, UK
Peter So, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
 
Program Chairs
Samuel Achilefu, Washington Univ. in St Louis, USA
Irene Georgakoudi, Tufts Univ., USA
 
Program Committee
Mingfeng Bai, Univ. of Pittsburgh, Dept of Radiology, UK
Riccardo Cicchi, National Institute of Optics, Italy
Yueqing Gu, China Pharmaceutical Univ.., China
Ella Jones, Univ. of California San Francisco, USA
Hisataka Kobayashi, NIH Natl. Inst of Biomed Imaging & Bioeng, USA
Laura Marcu, Univ. of California Davis, USA
Jianan Qu, Hong Kong Univ. of Science & Technology, HongKong
Kyle Quinn, Tufts Univ., USA
Melissa Skala, Vanderbilt Univ., USA

Conference Plenary Session

Monday, 13 April, 08:00 – 10:00

Eric Betzig, Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA
Tayyaba Hasan, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
W.E. Moerner, Stanford Univ., USA

Conference Reception

Monday, 13 April, 18:30 – 20:00
Join your fellow attendees for the Congress Reception. Enjoy delectable fare while networking. The reception is open to committee/presenting author/student and full conference attendees. Conference attendees may purchase extra tickets for their guest.

Industry Program
Tuesday, 14 April 10:30 - 13:30

Making the Connection between Biomedical Industry Products and Current Research in Optics and Photonics
Keynote Session

Eric Buckland, CEO, Bioptigen, USA

Panel Session

Panelists from the academic, industrial, financial and agency funding world will discuss the challenges that exist when taking scientific knowledge from the bench-top to the patient-side. From success stories, and some misadventures, we will learn from the panelist the best practices to commercializing the research presented at the conference. Funding issues in the start-up phase may be discussed; regulatory hurdles along the way examined; recovery from missteps reviewed; even challenges once a company matures and is ripe for its leaders to begin the exit process may be pondered. Bring questions and expect a highly interactive session with those who have ventured down this road.

Moderator:
Brian Wilson, Senior Scientist, University Health Network, Canada

Participating panelists:
Eric Buckland, CEO, Bioptigen, USA
Lindsay Machan, Associate Professor, Dept. of Radiology, Univ. of British Columbia, Canada
Brian Pogue, Professor, Engineering Science, Dartmouth College, USA; President, DoseOptics, LLC, USA
Edmund Talley, Program Director, National Inst. of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, USA
Adam Wax, Theodore Kennedy Professor, Duke University, USA; Founder and Chairman of Oncoscope, Inc., USA

Bright Ideas Pitch Panel Luncheon

Sponsored by: Hamamatsu

Invitation to Present Your New Technology and Innovative Ideas to Entrepreneurs & Venture Capitalists

Do you have a startup or an idea for a new company? Present your technology, explain why it’s valuable and discuss the next steps to commercialization.

This is a unique opportunity to present and collaborate with entrepreneurs and venture capital panelists about your emerging company and/or new technologies that may offer solutions to the challenges faced by professionals in the life sciences.

Share your dream and receive valuable direction from those that have experienced the excitement and trepidation of starting a photonics business.

Get both immediate market and investor feedback during the “OSA Bright Ideas Luncheon” by presenting your idea to the Entrepreneur and VC Panel.

Our panel of experts will give you their advice on what you need to do to launch a new company or take your startup to the next level.

In return for your brief presentation you will get the benefit of our panel’s decades of experience in commercializing photonics. 5-minute presentations will be followed by comments and suggestions from our panel of experts.

Industry Program Committee

Alain Villeneuve, President, Optav Solutions Inc., Canada
Alex Fong, Senior VP, Life Sciences and Instrumentation, Gooch and Housego, USA
Tom Haslett, CTO, Avo Photonics, USA
Ken Kaufmann, Marketing Director, Hamamatsu Corp., USA

Joint Poster Session

Tuesday, 14 April, 15:30 – 16:30
Posters are an integral part of the technical program and offer a unique networking opportunity, where presenters can discuss their results one-to-one with interested parties. Each author is provided with a board on which to display the summary and results of his or her paper.

Eric Betzig

Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA

Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry 2014

Imaging Life at High Spatiotemporal Resolution
I will describe three different technologies that balance the inevitable tradeoffs of spatial resolution, speed, and non-invasiveness in fluorescence microscopy: 3D localization microscopy of cellular ultrastructure; nonlinear structured illumination microscopy of live cell dynamics in the sub-100 nm regime; and lattice light sheet microscopy of rapid 3D dynamic processes in vivo.


Tayyaba Hasan

Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT): A Photochemical Slice of Clinical Biophotonics
This presentation will focus on the challenges associated with applying PDT as a theranostic modality for complex disease. Intricacies associated with formulation and drug delivery, dosimetry, and combination therapies that address cancer-sustaining pathways will be discussed.


W.E. Moerner

Stanford University, USA

Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry 2014

Pupil Plane Modulation to Extract Information from Single-Molecule Emitters for Super-Resolution Microscopy
Single-molecule imaging and active control of concentration lead to super-resolution microscopy for various applications.   Pupil plane phase modulation is a powerful tool to maximize information about 3D position, orientation, and other properties of the nanoscale emitters.

OSA - The Optical Society