Adam Wax joined the faculty of the Biomedical Engineering department at Duke University as an assistant professor in 2002 and was promoted to associate professor in 2008. Dr. Wax received his Ph.D. in physics from Duke in 1999 and completed his postdoctoral training at MIT. His research interests include optical spectroscopy for early cancer detection, novel microscopy and interferometry techniques.
Previous research has seen a thinning of the retina in Alzheimer's patients, but by adding a light-scattering technique to the measurement, we've found that the retinal nerve fiber layer is also rougher and more disordered...Our hope is that we can use this insight to create an easy and cheap screening device that wouldn't only be available at your doctor's office, but at places like your local pharmacy as wellIn Retinal texture could provide early biomarker of Alzheimer's disease
We expect that this new technique will have several important applications, such as visualizing tumor-development processes, like angiogenesis and oxygen deprivation...It also could help in detecting diseases of the eye, especially those that impact the tiny vessels of the eye. It may have effectiveness in monitoring the delivery and effectiveness of drugs.In Biomolecules Show Their True Colors
When light is directed at these tissues, it scatters...We can collect and analyze that scattered light looking for the tell-tale signs of dysplasia. Significantly, the technique is noninvasive so no tissue is taken and no dyes or contrast agents are needed...The important thing for clinicians is being able to detect these changes in the nuclei in cells just below the surface, which might not be detected by just looking at the lining of the colon through an endoscope alone.In Light Can Detect Pre-Cancerous Colon Cells
This optical approach of sampling allows us to cover more tissue sites in less time and has the potential to significantly improve our ability to spot and monitor these pre-cancerous cells....This type of approach could be used to improve and, perhaps one day, supplant the physical biopsies currently being used.In Let There be Light
This optical approach of sampling allows us to cover more tissue sites in less time and has the potential to significantly improve our ability to spot and monitor these pre-cancerous cells...This type of approach could be used to improve and perhaps one day supplant the physical biopsies currently being used.In Detecting Esophageal Cancer with Light