Nanotechnology in cancer diagnosis and treatment: a video interview with Michael Heller
Early diagnosis increases the likelihood of effective cancer treatment. Nanotechnology offers several ways to improve patient outcomes.
Nanotechnology shows great promise in improving the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, including drug delivery to a tumor site. Research is progressing that will lead to the "$1000 genome" or a personalized genome sequence for individuals, considered crucial to understanding and routinely treating hundreds of inherited diseases, predispositions to other diseases, and cancers.
At the junction of these exciting developments is Dr. Michael Heller, professor at the University of California/San Diego, with a joint appointment between the departments of Bioengineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Dr. Heller's experience includes many areas of biotechnology, with particular expertise in DNA molecular diagnostics and fluorescent/optoelectronic-based detection technologies. His most recent work involved the development of integrated DNA chip devices and systems for genomic and biomedical research and clinical diagnostic applications. He was a co-founder of Nanogen, Inc. and he principal inventor of Nanogen's microelectronic-based DNA chip technology.
Heller was a featured plenary speaker at the SPIE Optics + Photonics symposium, held in San Diego in August 2007.
