Description of Research Expertise

Research Interest Summary:
The main interest of this group is the non invasive detection of metabolic changes that occur during tumor development and in response to anticancer drugs in models of human breast cancer. We employ a number of imaging modalities that include near infrared fluorescence optical imaging, MRI and MRS, PET and Cerenkov imaging. We have an active program in the design, synthesis and characterization of NIR optical contrast agents for the detection of phospholipase and choline kinase expression and activity in tumors and for the detection of pH and redox changes in the tumor microenvironment. Changes in lipid metabolite levels are monitored using MRS to determine potential biochemical markers for the detection of tumors and their early response to therapy and correlated with near-infrared optical imaging using enzyme-activated fluorescent contrast agents to detect enzyme activity in situ. We are pioneering the development of Cerenkov imaging by creating novel radiolabeled probes suitable for determining both location and function using dual PET and optical imaging.

Selected Publications

Kennedy GT, Azari FS, Chang A, Bou-Samra P, Desphande C, Predina J, Delikatny EJ, Olson M, Rice DC, Singhal S.: A Phase 2 Multicenter Clinical Trial of Intraoperative Molecular Imaging of Lung Cancer with a pH-Activatable Nanoprobe Mol Imaging Biol 26 (4): 585-592,2024.

Hart MC, Isuri RK, Ramos D, Osharovich SA, Rodriguez AE, Harmsen S, Dudek GC, Huck JL, Holt DE, Popov AV, Singhal S, Delikatny EJ: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Imaging Using a Phospholipase A2 Activatable Fluorophore Chem Biomed Imaging 2 (7): 490-500,2024.

Hsu JC, Barragan D, Tward AE, Hajfathalian M, Amirshaghaghi A, Mossburg KJ, Rosario-Berríos DN, Bouché M, Andrianov AK, Delikatny EJ, Cormode DP: A biodegradable "one-For-all" nanoparticle for multimodality imaging and enhanced photothermal treatment of breast cancer Adv Healthc Mater 13 (8): e2303018,2024.

Kennedy GT, Azari FS, Chang A, Chang A, Bou-Samra P, Desphande C, Delikatny, EJ, Eruslanov E, Kucharczuk JC, Rice DC, Singhal S: A pH-Activatable nanoprobe labels diverse histologic subtypes of human lung cancer during resection Mol Imaging Biol 25 (5): 824-833,2023.

Azari F, Zhang K, Kennedy G, Bou-Samra P, Chang A, Nadeem B, Chang A, , Galandarova A, Ibrahimli A, Karimov Z, Din A, Kucharczuk J, Doraid J, Pechet T, Delikatny E, Singhal S.: Prospective validation of tumor folate receptor expression density with the association of pafolacianine fluorescence during intraoperative molecular imaging-guided lung cancer resections Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 50 (8): 2453-2465,2023.

Azari F, Kennedy GT, Chang A, Nadeem B, Bou-Samra P, Chang A, Segil A, Bernstein E, Sullivan NT, Eruslanov E, Delikatny J, Singhal S: Sodium multivitamin transporter-targeted fluorochrome facilitates enhanced metabolic evaluation of tumors through Coenzyme-R dependent intracellular signaling pathways Mol Imaging Biol 25 (3): 569-585,2023.

Bhaduri S, Kelly CL, Lesbats C, Sharkey J, Ressel L, Mukherjee S, Platt MD, Delikatny EJ, Poptani H: Metabolic changes in glioblastomas in response to choline kinase inhibition: In vivo MRS in rodent models: In vivo MRS in rodent models NMR Biomed 36 (3): e4855,2023.

Azari, F., Kennedy, G., Zhang, K., Bernstein, E., Chang, A., Nadeem, B., Segil, A., Desphande, C., Delikatny, J., Kucharczuk, J., and Singhal, S.: Effects of light-absorbing carbons in intraoperative molecular imaging-guided lung cancer resections Mol Imaging Biol 25 (1): 2023.

Kennedy GT, Azari FS, Bernstein E, Deshpande C, Kucharczuk JC, Delikatny EJ, Singhal S: Three-dimensional near-infrared specimen mapping can identify the distance from the tumor to the surgical margin during resection of pulmonary ground glass opacities Mol Imaging Biol 25 (1): 203-211,2023.

Kennedy, G. T., Azari, F. S., Bernstein, E., Desphande, C., Din, A., Marfatia, I., Kucharczuk, J. C., Delikatny, E. J., Low, P. S., and Singhal, S.: 3D Specimen Mapping Expedites Frozen Section Diagnosis of Nonpalpable Ground Glass Opacities The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 114 (6): 2115-2123,2022.

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Academic Contact Information

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Department of Radiology
317 Anatomy Chemistry Building
3620 Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-898-3105