Achievement

IGERT-LifeChips trainee, Roger Shih, extended his knowledge of microbubbles by conducting further research in this field during this reporting period. Originally developed as contrast agents for ultrasound imaging and diagnostics, it is believed that microbubbles can be used as drug and gene carriers. In order to begin testing microfluidically-produced microbubbles for safety and ultrasound visibility in vivo, Roger and his IGERT-LifeChips advisor, Dr. Abe Lee, collaborated with Dr. Bernard Choi's Microvascular Therapeutics and Imaging Lab to conduct experiments with animal models. With the help of postdoc Eugene Huang and other students in Dr. Choi's lab, they performed a number of microbubble injections with mice and visualized bubbles in circulation with both optical and ultrasound instruments. Findings of their experiments and further details will be provided in the highlights section of this report.