Integrated Science

Target identification
We are developing new technologies and science to identify the “signature of cancer” by profiling the molecular differences between normal and cancer cells. A systems approach reveals how a cell is wired to function as an integrated system, what goes awry when diseases develop, and what key molecular targets can be used to assess these changes – molecular imaging diagnostics - for guiding the correction of molecular errors of disease.


Molecular Probe development
Molecular probes are tool sets used to run tests on the biology of cells and organ systems – the way mechanics run diagnostics to repair our cars. These tool sets can be arrays of small molecules, such as sugars and amino acids, or larger molecules such as antibodies and proteins. Crump Institute scientists are inventing technologies and processes to streamline approaches to select, synthesize, and evaluate probes that will allow us to watch and measure the molecular basis of normal cellular function and the transition to disease.


Living cells
Tumors contain a diverse mix of cells such as the various types of cancer cells, blood vessels, and immune cells; the function of the immune system is orchestrated by specialized collections of cells that communicate and work together to organize their attack on a tumor. Using miniaturized laboratories on chips being developed in the Crump Institute, we can investigate biology at the level of the individual cell, answering specific questions about how a communication pathway is activated or can be silenced by shutting off a switch using a targeted therapy.


Living organisms
Molecular imaging allows us to watch, measure, and interrogate biological processes, in the intact living organism in a non-invasive and safe manner. We can ask not just what, but where, when, and how much is the biology changing, as disease develops and as we intervene to drive the disease biology back towards normal or eliminate it. Our ultimate goal is to provide the means to be able to ask these questions in patients, in order to truly understand and effectively treat disease.