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Drezek awarded $3 million for cancer research
 The Department of Defense (DOD) has named Rice University the recipient of a $3 million award for a five-year program to develop miniaturized molecular imaging technologies for the screening, diagnosis and monitoring of breast cancer.
The program, which will be conducted in collaboration with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, calls for the development of microendoscope and needle-compatible fiber optic systems that doctors can use for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic breast-cancer imaging needs, ranging from early detection to guiding surgery to monitoring the efficacy of radiation therapy and targeted drug treatments.
Principal investigator Rebekah Drezek, associate professor in bioengineering and in electrical and computer engineering, is one of three U.S. scientists chosen for this year’s Era of Hope Scholar Award, which is given annually by the DOD’s Congressionally Directed Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP).
The award recognizes “exceptionally talented, early career scientists who have demonstrated through their extraordinary creativity, vision and productivity that they are the best and brightest in their fields.”
Drezek was selected for her translational research developing miniaturized photonics-based molecular imaging technologies for the screening, diagnosis and monitoring of breast cancer. She is the first Rice faculty member to receive the Era of Hope Scholar Award and is the only principal investigator chosen this year that is not at a medical institution.
Research in Drezek’s lab takes a different approach to clinical breast-cancer imaging, focusing on the development of inexpensive, portable photonic-based imaging tools that provide high-resolution in-situ imaging of the molecular hallmarks of breast cancer.
Congress established the BCRP in 1992 in response to lobbying efforts by advocacy organizations that sought research specifically designed to address breast cancer. The DOD was chosen because of its long history in medical research and responsiveness to unmet medical needs. BCRP is second only to the National Cancer Institute as a U.S. funding agency.
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