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NORMAN, OKLA. – Wei R. Chen, Ph.D., Stephenson Endowed Chair, Professor, and Interim Director of the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, recently chaired an international conference, “Biophotonics and Immune Responses XX”, at the Photonics West Symposium sponsored by the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE). Chen established this unique conference and has served as its chair since 2006. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the conference.
Biophotonics is a multidisciplinary field that involves the study and application of light (photons) in biological systems. It combines concepts from biology, physics and optics to explore how light interacts with living organisms and tissues. Researchers use light-based techniques to study, diagnose or treat biological and medical conditions. Applying Biophotonics to induce immune responses is an emerging field.
Chen, as a pioneer in this field, recognized the importance of photochemical, photoimmunological, photochemical and photothermal effects in modulating the immune system for detection and treatment of diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases with immunological roots.
The Biophotonics and Immune Responses conference has provided a forum for researchers from academia, industry and other health professional fields to share ideas and collaborate. For the past two decades, it has served as a bridge between technological development and clinical applications, focusing on induction, enhancement, mechanisms and detection of immune responses induced by biophotonics and through the combination of biophotonics with other detection and therapeutic modalities in diagnostics and therapeutics.
The conference has brought basic research scientists and clinicians together to share research experiences and initiate clinical studies. It connected researchers and entrepreneurs – companies had been formed during the conferences. For example, Immunophotonics, Inc., a biotech company developing biophotonics-based immunotherapy for cancer, was conceived during one of the conferences by Chen and collaborators.
After a decade of work, Immunophotonics has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a phase 1b/2a multiple-center clinical trial for late-stage patients with colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and soft tissue sarcoma, using the novel biophotonics-based immunotherapy developed by Chen’s team.
The conference also provides opportunities for emerging scholars, including postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduate students, to learn from established professionals. This year, two doctoral students in Chen’s lab, Trisha Valerio and Coline Furrer, gave oral presentations at the conference, reporting their research on immunotherapy for pancreatic cancers and nanotechnology-based immunotherapy for cancer treatment.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
Mary Margaret Holt, dean of the University of Oklahoma Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, has been honored with the Paseo Arts Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her leadership and contributions to Oklahoma’s arts community.
With winter weather already bringing low temperatures to the state, the Oklahoma Poison Center is urging residents to take extra precautions to avoid carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning as they begin heating their homes for the winter season. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that can be deadly when inhaled in large quantities, and it poses a heightened risk as people rely on heating devices for warmth during cold weather.
Thanks to support from the Chickasaw Nation, the University of Oklahoma College of Law has announced the continuation and expansion of the Chickasaw Nation – Henry Family Lecture Series. Under the new name, the event will continue to showcase thought-provoking discourse surrounding the rule of law.
