Bioimaging Asia – Biological Imaging Keynote Speakers

Kattesh V. Katti Director, Institute of Green Nanotechnology / Radiology / Cancer Nanotechnology Platform, University of Missouri Professor Kattesh V. Katti is internationally recognized as a leader in the interconnecting fields of—chemistry, radiopharmaceutical sciences, nanotechnology/green nanotechnology and nanomedicine—for biomedical applications, specifically for molecular imaging and therapy of living subjects. The impact of Dr. Katti’s work is widespread, as his pioneering discoveries and strategies, originally developed in his laboratory in bioconjugate chemistry and Nanomedicine, and green nanotechnological tools, are used in many laboratories, industries and hospitals around the world. His contributions in nano and green nanotechnologies have already created a transformative progress in nanomedicine by aiding molecular imaging to help diagnose and manage therapy—all at the cellular levels. Dr. Katti’s ground breaking discoveries in green nanotechnology where he has demonstrated that biocompatible nanoparticles can be produced without the intervention of any toxic chemicals, through phytochemicals of high antioxidant capacities and tumor receptor specificities have created a new generation of molecular imaging and therapeutic nanoceuticals. His approach to green nanotechnology has furthered the scope of holistic and integrative medicine with implications in modulating signaling pathways allowing optimization of therapies targeted to tumor cells/regions without causing adverse toxic effects to normal cells. These original discoveries are expected to have a major impact on how molecular imaging and therapies will eventually be individualized to allow their greater success through theranostic approaches using radioactive nanoparticles, photothermal therapy using targeted nanoparticles and novel therapies involving phytochemicals. Myriad of such approaches developed by Dr. Katti are already impacting clinical translation through comparative oncology in realistic ways as new drugs are being validated for their efficacy in imaging and therapy using tumor bearing dogs where the disease mimics human conditions. In recognition of his original contributions, Dr. Katti has been awarded a number of international awards and citations which include: International Hevesy Medal Award (2015) for excellence in Nuclear Sciences; Elected to the fellowship of the National Academy of Inventors (2015); One of the ‘25 Most Influential Scientists In Molecular Imaging in the World’ award by RT Image, the ‘Father of Green Nanotechnology’ citation by the Nobel Prize Winner Norman Borlaug, Gauss Professorship—Hall of Fame—from the Gottingen Academy of Sciences, ‘Outstanding Scientists Fellows’ award and induction as a Fellow of the Academy of Science, St Louis—one of the oldest scientific academies of the world and many more. In 2013, Dr. Katti was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science with a citation “for distinguished contributions encompassing nanoscale chemistry, particularly for ground breaking discoveries enabling application of nanotechnology concepts for biomedical applications”. His unprecedented discovery of the production of tumor specific gold nanoparticles through 100% green processes have been cited as the Editor’s choice in Nature, Future Medicine, in Science (AAAS), in Popular Science, by the Discovery Channel and have been highlighted in scientific/medical programs of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, London).
Melissa L. Knothe Tate Paul Trainor Chair of Biomedical Engineering, Fellow of AIMBE, ASME, BMES, Professor, University of New South Wales Melissa's expertise lies in the areas of multiscale, experimental and computational mechanobiology, regenerative medicine, as well as next generation implants and advanced materials. Her research and development work has encompassed several thrust areas at interface of biology and mechanics, referred to as mechanobiology. Spanning from stem cell mechanobiology to technology development, her principal focus has been on multiscale computational and experimental approaches to uncover and harness biophysical signals that promote tissue generation and healing. Her MechBio team (mechbio.org) has used this knowledge to develop new treatment strategies as well as novel materials and implants. As a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the American Society for Mechanical Engineers, and the Biomedical Engineering Society, she has received numerous international research and development (R&D) awards. Her R&D program has resulted in over 210 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and proceedings, 150 invited presentations and more than $14.9M in research, development, training, conference and infrastructure funding. She serves on several editorial boards of journals ranging from IEEE Transactions in Biomedical Engineering to Frontiers in Computational Physiology and Medicine to Technology and Health Care and has guest edited special volumes for the Annals of Biomedical Engineering and Tissue Engineering. Her trainees have gone on to leading posts in industry, academia, medicine and government.
Jayakumar Perumal Senior Scientist , Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) Jayakumar has done his Bachelors and Masters from INDIA - Majoring in Chemistry. He completed his Ph.D (2010) in South Korea, Specializing in polymer based Microfluidics fabrication for chemical synthesis and Biosensing. He came to Singapore in 2011 and has been working in A-STAR Institute for more than 4 years. His research interests are mainly focused on fabrication of various SERS active Plasmonic substrates and applying it for different Cancer biomarker detection. He is currently working on SERS Microfluidics for multiplex detection of different protein biomarkers.
Sambasivam Sendhil Velan Head, Metabolic Imaging Group, SBIC, A*STAR, Singapore, SBIC, A*STAR Dr. Velan received his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics – Biophysics (Interdisciplinary) with a research focus in Magnetic Resonance from University of Madras, India (1997), and his Post-doctoral fellowship in MR methodologies at the NIH (1997-98). He then joined as a senior scientist in Biological Imaging Center at the Beckman Institute of California Institute of Technology, California where he worked on high field Magnetic Resonance Microscopy (1999-2003). From 2003-2009 he was an Assistant Professor at the Center for Advanced Imaging & Department of Radiology of West Virginia University, United States. During this period he developed several localized MRS techniques for clinical applications. In June 2009 he joined the laboratory of molecular imaging, Singapore Bioimaging Consortium as the Head of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Metabolic Imaging group. He has developed several magnetic resonance techniques for Magnetic Resonance imaging, EPR Imaging, self-diffusion measurements, high resolution MRS, and localized MRS suitable for pre-clinical and clinical applications. He currently serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals and funding agencies..