From bench to bedside for precision imaging and treatment: dream catcher by protein design
Dr. Yang is Regents’ University Professor, Fellow of National Academy of Inventors, Director of Advanced Translational Imaging Facility, Associate Director of the Center for Diagnostics and Therapeutics at Georgia State University, and a Founder of InLighta Biosciences. Dr. Yang is a pioneer in establishing Calciomics, to enable visualization of the roles of calcium in extracellular/intracellular Ca2+ signaling, and cell-cell communication through development of responsive calcium sensors and computational prediction methods. Her work in protein coordination chemistry, metal selectivity, and molecular toxicity in biological systems, has revealed key determinants for understanding metal binding, selectivity, conformational changes and dynamics. This research led to the development of novel protein-based MRI contrast agents (ProCA) with improved relaxivity (sensitivity), dose efficiency and selectivity, to enable biomarker-targeted MRI molecular imaging for pre-clinical drug discovery and clinical diagnosis, prognosis, and patient selection. During her career, she has been granted 35 patents, published over 157 papers and trained >170 student researchers. Her current work involves expanding the development of targeted contrast agents, and development of novel therapeutics.