Engineering Professor Awarded
Annually, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 40,000 die from the disease in the U.S. Quing Zhu, Ph.D., associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been named a Donaghue Investigator by the Patrick & Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation for her groundbreaking discoveries in early detection and treatment of breast cancer.
Her work will be supported by a five-year, $595,800 award that will fund continued research involving a combination of near infrared (NIR) light and ultrasound to detect and treat breast cancers. It also will fund research into two new techniques.
Zhu, who was recently named a 2007 Woman of Innovation by the Connecticut Technology Council, developed a novel device that combines NIR and ultrasound techniques to yield more accurate cancer diagnoses than either technique alone can provide.The device is used after a potential cancer is detected during an initial examination, such as a mammogram or manual exam. Zhu and colleagues at the UConn Health Center and Hartford Hospital have conducted clinical trials involving more than 180 patients to date. Zhu holds two U.S. patents on the technology.
The Donaghue Investigator funding will support Zhu’s continued research in this area, as well as new investigations involving the use of low-frequency ultrasound in conjunction with chemotherapy to improve the success of breast cancer treatment, and the use of photoacoustic imaging techniques to screen lymph nodes for detection of cancer metastasis.
The Donaghue Foundation has funded a total of 24 Donaghue Investigators since 1998. Zhu is the first researcher from the Storrs campus to receive this prestigious award. She previously garnered funding under the Donaghue Foundation’s Clinical & Community Health Issues program.
According to Lynne Garner, Ph.D., executive director of the Donaghue Foundation, “We were very impressed with Dr. Zhu’s potential and her device, which holds promise for improving cancer detection and monitoring.We also see the possibility of expanded use of her novel device in detecting and monitoring cancers elsewhere in the body.”
The Donaghue Investigator award, Garner explains, is a “career” award made in recognition of both the current merit and long-term potential of an individual’s research program in practical application. The Donaghue Investigator award funding will be managed by UConn’s Office for Sponsored Programs.
To support the School of Engineering, please contact Brian Otis, Vice President for Development, at 860-486-5960.
