Bringing Innovative Technology to the Bedside: BSF PI Nathalie Agar, PhD

With the advent of Spring, blooms the lilac bush on the corner of 221 Longwood Avenue. This year it had a new admirer: BSF PI Nathalie Agar, PhD, whose new interdisciplinary Clinical Spectroscopy Laboratory opened across the street in Harvard Medical School’s research complex.

Dr. Agar is working to develop mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) applications for the diagnosis and treatment of meningioma and other brain tumors. MSI is a novel technology that combines high analytical qualities with histology, making it now possible to identify extensive molecular information in a timely manner. This remarkable technology is a driving force in the future of laboratory and bedside cancer investigations and the practice of personalized medicine.

MSI will allow human meningioma samples to be classified based on their protein mass signatures and the identification of significant markers. The re-characterization of tumors will use a multitude of molecular features to predict tumor behavior and response to treatment not explained by the current system. The resulting classification scheme will provide physicians with a detailed prognosis based on the tumor’s molecular profile.

The availability of this comprehensive diagnosis at the time of surgery would provide information on how aggressive and invasive a tumor may be based on its biochemical profile, enabling physicians to efficiently orient surgery and adjuvant treatment modalities to the individual.

By seeding Dr. Agar’s early research and advancing its momentum, the Brain Science Foundation has been a critical facilitator of the interdisciplinary collaboration essential to the development of such highly specialized technology and the establishment of the Clinical Spectroscopy Laboratory. Additionally, Dr. Agar was able to leverage the BSF’s seed investment to secure an additional one-year grant from the American Brain Tumor Association to support the initial set up of this laboratory.
 
“The role of the BSF in both my career and project development has been pivotal. On par with providing the necessary funding, the close follow-up and invested relationships provide a strong sense of team effort towards our common mission to improve the quality of brain tumor patient care, which in my opinion is invaluable for success,” said Dr. Agar.