The Department of Defense has named Rice University the recipient of a $3 million award to develop miniaturized molecular imaging technologies for screening, diagnosis, and monitoring of breast cancer. The program calls for the development of microendoscope and needle-compatible fiber optic systems that doctors can use for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic breast cancer imaging needs, ranging from early detection to guiding surgery to monitoring the efficacy of radiation therapy and targeted drug treatments.

"In current practice," said the program's principal investigator, Rice bioengineer Rebekah Drezek, "doctors need to biopsy a tumor in order to conduct the chemical tests that find the molecular signatures of different types of cancer. There is a tremendous need for novel technologies that can detect biomarkers without tissue removal."