Rebecca Richards-Kortum

Stanley C. Moore Professor of Bioengineering
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Founder of Beyond Traditional Borders
Director of Rice 360°: Institute for Global Health Technology

Ph.D., Medical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1990)
M.S., Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1987)
B.S., Physics and Mathematics, University of Nebraska - Lincoln (1985)

Bio Sketch

For two decades, Rebecca Richards-Kortum has focused on translating research that integrates advances in nanotechnology and molecular imaging with microfabrication technologies to develop optical imaging systems that are inexpensive, portable, and provide point-of-care diagnosis. This basic and translational research is highly collaborative and has led to new technologies to improve the early detection of cancers and other diseases, especially in impoverished settings.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) use micro-scale technology to design low-cost, reusable platforms for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics. When used with contrast agents, these rugged and portable optical imaging systems detect molecular signatures of pre-cancer, assess tumor margins, and monitor a patient’s response to therapy. Current systems are being tested and applied through multidisciplinary collaborations with clinicians and researchers at Rice, the UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, UT Health Science Center-Houston, UT at Austin, the University of Arizona, and the British Columbia Cancer Agency. Over the past few years, Richards-Kortum and collaborators have translated these technologies from North America to both low- and medium-resource developing countries (Botswana, India, Taiwan, Mexico, and Brazil).

Richards-Kortum’s research has led to the development of 24 patents and more than 170 published papers. Her teaching programs, research and collaborations have been supported by generous grants from the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Whitaker Foundation.

Notable awards Richards-Kortum has received include: the Presidential Young Investigator (1991) and Presidential Faculty Fellow (1992) awards from the National Science Foundation; the Becton Dickinson Career Achievement Award from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (1992); named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Professor (2002); received the Sharon Keillor Award for Women in Engineering Education (2004) and Chester F. Carlson Award (2007) from the American Society for Engineering Education. She served on the inaugural National Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering for the National Institutes of Health (2002-2007), was elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Biomedical Engineering Society (2008); received the Vice President Recognition Award by IEEE (2008); and was inducted into the National Academy of Engineers (2008).

Research Statement

The ability to noninvasively monitor cellular processes at the molecular level has the potential to lead to new ways of diagnosing and characterizing disease, developing effective therapeutics, and monitoring response to these treatments. Robust molecular imaging requires two components: a molecular-specific source of signal (typically provided through a contrast agent) and an imaging system to detect this signal. Ongoing projects include:

• Oral Cancer Screening: working in collaboration with Dr. Ann Gillenwater of M.D. Anderson’s Department of Head and Neck Surgery and the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mambai, India, Richards-Kortum’s group has launched an international effort to evaluate screening devices for oral cancer.
  
  
• Molecular Imaging: through a team of multidisciplinary researchers, the Richards-Kortum group is developing molecular-specific, optically active contrast agents that can be applied topically to aid in the early detection of cancer. These contrast agents are based on the use of colloidal metal nanoparticles, and have been used in cell culture, tissue culture, animal models, and ex vivo human specimens. The research has demonstrated that the novel optical properties of these agents can enhance the image contrast between normal and precancerous tissue by more than ten fold compared to standard organic fluorescent dyes. Her team is testing the safety and efficacy of these contrast agents and imaging systems to support phase I and II clinical trials in humans.
  
  
• High resolution imaging: Richards-Kortum’s group developed the first reflectance fiber optic microscopy system used to image epithelial tissue in vivo. Working with Professor Mike Descour at the University of Arizona and Professor Tomasz Tkaczyk at Rice University, she has developed and tested integrated microfabricated microscopes for in vivo reflectance and fluorescence imaging. These systems are in clinical trials and offer the first in vivo technique capable of imaging the three-dimensional profile of the targeted biomarkers as well as morphologic and architectural biomarkers such as nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio. The emphasis on microfabrication techniques offers an approach to high resolution imaging which is inexpensive, rugged and portable.