Rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been implicated in the spread of cancer from primary tumor sites to other parts of the body via the bloodstream (a process known as metastasis). The detection of these CTCs has been shown to be a strong prognostic indicator for progression-free and overall survival of cancer patients.

The extreme rarity of these cells has made their use in clinical settings a challenge. The goal of my projects is to develop immunomagnetic nanoparticles with novel surface coatings to bind to these rare CTCs in patient blood samples so that they may be magnetically separated from the rest of the blood components for statistical and histological evaluation.

Publications and Presentation