Brenda C Crews

I study the role of up-regulated COX-2 protein in colon and esophageal cancer with an emphasis in early detection of cancer through targeted optical imaging agents. The Marnett Group's novel compounds are selective COX-2 inhibitors tethered to a fluorescent moiety ( for Xenogen imaging) or radioactive inhibitors with 18F- or 123I- ( for PET or SPECT imaging). My second focus concerns the testing of chemotherapeutic compounds in cellular and animal models of cancer.