Jongsick Kim has been chosen as the new Carle Foundation Hospital - Beckman Institute Fellow. Kim is the second Fellow chosen for the program, which was started in 2008 as a three-year appointment for a recent Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. interested in conducting oncology-related research at the Beckman Institute.
The program is an opportunity for the Fellow to conduct independent, interdisciplinary, oncology-related translational research before launching her/his formal career. Michael Walsh was selected as the first-ever Carle - Beckman Fellow in 2008.
Kim recently joined Beckman’s Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory, headed by Institute researcher Stephen Boppart, after serving as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Pittsburgh. He earned his Ph.D. at Pittsburgh in Bioengineering.
The title of Kim’s project for his appointment is “Magnetomotive optical coherence tomography (MM-OCT) image-guided hyperthermia of tumor lesions using targeted magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs).” In his application, Kim wrote that his research focus as the Carle - Beckman Fellow will be to “demonstrate real-time diagnostic MM-OCT imaging with molecular specific contrast enhancement of tumor, and enlarge the role of OCT technology as a diagnostic imaging modality to an adjunct technology that combines detection/diagnosis with therapy by simply switching parameters of magnetic field.”
Kim will work with researchers at the University of Illinois to develop and implement hardware and software advances for the MM-OCT system and to interpret the OCT results, and with physicians at Carle to perform standard-of-care procedures for surgical treatment and pathological assessment of tumors for the project’s patients.
The Carle Foundation Hospital - Beckman Institute Fellows Program contributes to the Carle Foundation Hospital accomplishing its goals of enhancing relationships with University of Illinois scientists, advancing its translational research program in the area of breast cancer research, and providing an opportunity for its medical staff to collaborate with researchers in the search for breakthrough discoveries that will improve healthcare.
