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Background
Amber Doiron grew up in Highlands Ranch, Colorado just south of Denver. She received her B.S. in chemistry from Colorado State University in 2003. While at CSU, she studied the molecular cues involved in the development of atherosclerosis under the advisement of Dr. Kristina Rinker. Amber is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin with Dr. Lisa Brannon-Peppas and Dr. Nicholas Peppas.
Research Summary
According to the American Heart Association’s most currently available statistics, coronary heart disease is the nation’s single leading cause of death. In 2002, coronary heart disease affected over 13 million people and claimed 494,382 lives. Coronary heart disease is primarily caused by atherosclerosis, the formation of plaques in the arterial wall brought about by numerous events including the accumulation of low density lipoprotein, stimulation of inflammatory responses, and the attachment of immune cells to the arterial wall. Plaque deposits are composed of fatty material, cholesterol, cellular products, calcium and many other components. The formation and growth of atherosclerotic plaques occurs with age and is heightened by numerous risk factors including smoking, obesity, inactivity, and high blood pressure.
Mature atherosclerotic plaques take decades to develop, restricting more blood flow as they grow. Plaques that rupture can cause blood clots or break off and travel to another part of the body. If blood flow is blocked by a clot in a vessel that supplies the heart or brain, it causes a heart attack or a stroke. Currently, imaging is primarily accomplished with angiography, a technique with many known limitations.
My research focuses on delivering imaging agents to plaques likely to cause complications in order to more clearly picture the areas using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The goal of the project is to provide a clinically applicable approach to deliver an imaging agent selectively to a plaque. Once at the site of interest, the nanoparticle could release its contents in order to image the diseased area. Previous work is primarily in the area of targeting early plaque formation, but we believe the ultimate clinical utility would be provided by the ability to image and treat mature plaques. A mature plaque is made up of various molecules and cellular components which are possible targets. The ultimate goal is to impact personalized patient care by more accurately imaging the plaque.
Publications
A. L. Doiron, A. P. Kirkpartrick and K.D. Rinker, 2004, “TGF-β and TNF-α affect cell surface proteoglycan and sialic acid expression on vascular endothelial cells,” Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation 40: 331-336.
A. Doiron and L. Brannon-Peppas, “Nanoparticles for the Delivery of Imaging Agents to Atherosclerotic Plaque,” Transaction of the International Symposium of Controlled Release of Bioactive Materials, No. 780, July 2006.
T. Betancourt, A. Doiron and L. Brannon-Peppas, “Polymeric Nanoparticles for Tumor-Targeted Drug Delivery,” in: Nanotechnology in Cancer Therapeutics , M. M. Amiji, ed., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2006.
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