# Designer Molecular Probes for Biomedical Applications

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2022 · $250,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
The PI is the Alan MacDiarmid Term Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania
(UPenn), where in 2003 he launched a multidisciplinary research program developing molecular
probes that have led to breakthroughs in Chemical Biology, Radiology, Cellular
Genomics/Transcriptomics, and Anesthesiology. In the course of this research, the PI has
mentored 9 postdoctoral fellows, 35 graduate students, and 50 undergraduates, with many
winning national awards and most graduates pursuing careers in science and biomedicine. The
PI's research draws on formal training in supramolecular organic chemistry (Harvard-Mainz),
bioinorganic and biophysical chemistry (Caltech, Ph.D.), and biology/biomolecular imaging
(Caltech, postdoc). The PI's immersion for the past 19 years in the biomedical research
enterprise at UPenn has burnished this experience. Through key collaborations, the PI has
tackled significant biomedical research questions, using the tools of chemical synthesis, protein
and oligonucleotide chemistry, and bioanalytical chemistry. The PI's 105 peer-reviewed
publications, 7 patents, 4 edited books and contributed book chapters highlight a track record of
productivity, innovation, impact, and dissemination in the development and application of
chemical tools for biomedical research. The PI's service, including current membership on the
SBCA study section, confirms a strong commitment to scientific review, education, outreach,
community building, and junior faculty mentoring. This MIRA award extends the PI's highly
successful GM-funded research in three program areas: 1) molecular imaging using xenon-
based MRI contrast agents; 2) cellular transcriptome-in-vivo-analysis and mRNA regulation
using light-activated oligonucleotide probes; and, 3) elucidation of general anesthetic-protein
interactions with novel fluorescent probes, ultrasensitive 129Xe NMR spectroscopy, and other
biophysical methods. Significant goals of the next five-year period are to refine these probe-
based technologies with world-class research-collaborators at UPenn and establish high-value
probes that can be disseminated broadly to the biomedical research community. Collectively,
these tools will advance our molecular understanding of normal biological/biomedical processes
(including general anesthesia), and provide avenues for improved diagnosis and treatment of
many human diseases, including cancer, neurodegeneration, and diabetes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10552841
- **Project number:** 3R35GM131907-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Ivan Julian Dmochowski
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $250,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10552841

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10552841, Designer Molecular Probes for Biomedical Applications (3R35GM131907-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10552841. Licensed CC0.

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