Current projects:
Novel optical probe for continuous real-time in vivo study of brain alcohol: Development of new therapeutics for alcohol use disorder requires continued progress in the elucidation of the neuropharmacological mechanisms that underlie the changes in the brain that repeated ethanol consumption produce. To this end, animal models, including rodents, have been essential in furthering our understanding of how ethanol exposure alters the motivation to consume ethanol. A key limitation in the field is the ability to monitor ethanol in tissues (including brain) in real-time so that the experimenter can interpret any findings of neurophysiological or neurochemical changes produced by ethanol. In other words, particularly with models of self- administration of ethanol, it is extremely important to have a read out of the ethanol concentrations that are achieved in brain tissue before, during, and after ethanol consumption (as well as other tissues). Presently available technology does not allow continuous, real-time determination of tissue ethanol concentrations. Our objective is to design, develop, and test an optical probe capable of selective detection of ethanol concentrations in vivo.
Measurement of protein oligomers: Neurodegenerative diseases are caused by misfolded proteins forming soluble toxic oligomers in the brain. Current technologies accurately assess specific known oligomers such as amyloid and tau, but do not measure ones that have not yet been discovered. This project aims to develop an optical microfluidic device capable of detecting protein oligomers in a biological sample.
Geochemsitry and gas adsorption in nanomaterials/rocks: Fluid adsorption in materials, wetting, geochemistry.
Collaborators: Prof Gonzales from the College of Pharmacy, UT Austin; Prof Peter Hutchinson from Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge; Prof Jim Ray, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Huston, TX; Prof Heidari from Petroleum Engineering, UT Austin.
Funding acknowledgment:
