The following are recent instances of the Wellman Center for Photomedicine and Wellman Center researchers being covered by the media.

Appearing in the Faculty of 1000 Medicine

Dr. Michael Hamblin's article "Treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection with intra-gastric violet light phototherapy: a pilot clinical trial." (Lasers Surg Med, 2009 Jul) has been selected for Faculty of 1000 Medicine.

Faculty of 1000 Medicine is a literature awareness service that identifies and evaluates the most important articles published in Medicine based on the recommendations of a Faculty of over 2000 peer-nominated leading researchers and clinicians.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Helicobacter pylori infects the mucus layer of the human stomach and causes peptic ulcers and adenocarcinoma. We have previously shown that H. pylori accumulates photoactive porphyrins making the organism susceptible to inactivation by light, and that small spot endoscopic illumination with violet light reduced bacterial load in human stomachs. This study assessed the feasibility and safety of whole-stomach intra-gastric violet phototherapy for the treatment of H. pylori infection.
STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: A controlled, prospective pilot trial was conducted using a novel light source consisting of laser diodes and diffusing fibers to deliver 408-nm illumination at escalating total fluences to the whole stomach. Eighteen adults (10 female) with H. pylori infection were treated at three U.S. academic endoscopy centers. Quantitative bacterial counts were obtained from biopsies taken from the antrum, body, and fundus, and serial urea breath tests. RESULTS: The largest reduction in bacterial load was in the antrum (>97%), followed by body (>95%) and fundus (>86%). There was a correlation between log reduction and initial bacterial load in the antrum. There was no dose-response seen with increasing illumination times. The urea breath test results indicated that the bacteria repopulated in days following illumination.
CONCLUSION: Intra-gastric violet light phototherapy is feasible and safe and may represent a novel approach to eradication of H. pylori, particularly in patients who have failed standard antibiotic treatment. This was a pilot study involving a small number of patients. Further research is needed to determine if phototherapy can be effective for eradicating H. pylori.

Tosteson Postdoctoral Fellowship Award

We are extremely delighted to share with you that Clemens Alt and Pilhan Kim are recipients of the 2009 Tosteson Postdoctoral Fellowship Award funded by the Massachusetts Biomedical Research Corporation (MBRC).

Clemens' project title is: "Probing microglia microenvironment with adaptive-optics imaging and selective optical microsurgery" and Pilhan's title is "In vivo longitudinal imaging of colon tumorigenesis in conditional Apc knock-out mice" Please refer to their project summaries for additional information. This was a very competitive review, Clemens and Pilhan’s proposals were chosen from among 95 applications considered by the MGH Executive Committee on Research (ECOR) and the Subcommittee on Review of Research Proposals (SRRP). Only 10 proposals were awarded. Their one year fellowship will begin September 1, 2009.

NIH Bench to Bedside Pioneer Award

We are very pleased to inform you that Tayyaba Hasan, PhD will receive the highly prestigious NIH Bench to Bedside Pioneer Award. The award ceremony will be held at the NIH Workshop in Bethesda, MD on Thursday, October 1st.

Here is an excerpt from the NIH Workshop website:
"The NIH Bench to Bedside Pioneer Award recipient is Prof. Tayyaba Hasan of the Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hasan's extraordinary contributions to Biomedical Optics include pioneering activities in basic research, clinical translation, and mentoring young scientists. Her career has spanned a range of topics in Photomedicine including basic photochemistry, photobiology, and photodynamic therapy (PDT), leading to the invention of PDT for treating patients with age-related macular degeneration. Her work in immunotargeting, optical spectroscopy, and in vivo optical imaging of tissue is ongoing through funding from the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Hasan's second appointment in the MGH Office for Research Career Development has her involved in mentoring scientists at all stages of their careers and helping establish pathways for career growth at one of the largest biomedical research institutions in the world."