ABSTRACT
Differential protein expression in vascular endothelium associated with normal or diseased tissues offers the potential for developing novel diagnostic, imaging, and therapeutic strategies. In essence, our research program uses combinatorial library selection (peptide and antibody-based) to discover, validate, and exploit the vascular biochemical diversity of endothelial cell surfaces toward a new vascular-targeted p harmacology. Such targeting technologies may lead to the development of ligand-directed therapeutics and imaging agents for application in the treatment of cancer, obesity, and other medical conditions that show distinct vascular attributes. Translational applications through clinical trials, which are scheduled to start soon at our own institution and elsewhere, will ultimately determine the value of this strategy.
