Benedict Law

Phone:  (701) 231-7906

              (701) 231-7877- Lab

E-Mail:  Shek.Law@ndsu.edu

Education

1997 Bachelor of Science, Pharmacy; Portsmouth University, Portsmouth, UK.

2002 Doctor of Philosophy, School of Pharmacy, University of Manchester, UK.

Positions and Honors

              2007-present.    Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, NDSU, ND,USA

             2002-2007.       Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, MA. USA

Honors and Awards

              2002-present.  Member of Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain

              1998-2002.        BBSRC Case Award (UK)

Research Interests

Imaging Diagnostics:

My research focus is involved in the design and synthesis of optical contrast agents for enhancing the detection of tumors. During the past ten years, intensive genomic and proteomic research has provided a better understanding of specific genes and proteins involved in different disease mechanisms. Imaging technology has no doubt become an essential tool for biomedical research and medical diagnostics, in particular for early detection and staging of cancers. The increasing recognition of proteinases, proteolytic and signaling cascades in the growth and metastasis of tumors, in conjunction with the combinatorial and high throughput approaches have led to the discovery of potential lead compounds that can interact with a particular biological target of interests. Our ultimate goal is to develop patient-specific treatment strategies based on the biochemical pathology of specific tumor-associated processes by using non-invasive in vivo imaging.

Peptide and Protein Delivery Strategies:

The goal for any chemotherapy is to ensure the safety and efficient drug delivery to the targeted site. In the past, biological molecules like peptides, proteins and antibodies, have been used extensively for targeting specific diseases. One of the problems facing the development of these agents is the preservation of both the pharmacological and immunological activities. Recently, there are a number of studies focusing on new delivery strategies. We are focusing on the investigation of peptide-based hydrogel for target delivery of therapeutic and imaging agents.

Publications.

• Law, B., Curino, A., Bugge, T. H., Weissleder, R., and Tung, C. H. (2004) Design, synthesis, and characterization of urokinase plasminogen-activator-sensitive near-infrared reporter, Chem Biol 11, 99-106.
• Law, B., Hsiao, J. K., Bugge, T. H., Weissleder, R., and Tung, C. H. (2005) Optical zymography for specific detection of urokinase plasminogen activator activity in biological samples, Anal Biochem 338, 151-158.
• Law, B., Weissleder, R., and Tung, C. H. (2005) Mechanism-based fluorescent reporter for protein kinase A detection, Chembiochem 6, 1361-1367.
• Law, B., Quinti, L., Choi, Y., Weissleder, R., and Tung, C. H. (2006) A mitochondrial targeted fusion peptide exhibits remarkable cytotoxicity, Mol Cancer Ther 5, 1944-1949.
• Law, B., Weissleder, R., and Tung, C. H. (2006) Peptide-based biomaterials for protease-enhanced drug delivery, Biomacromolecules 7, 1261-1265.
• Hsiao, J. K., Law, B., Weissleder, R., and Tung, C. H. (2006) In-vivo imaging of tumor associated urokinase-type plasminogen activator activity, J Biomed Opt 11, 34013.
• Law, B., Weissleder, R., and Tung, C. H. (2007) Protease sensitive fluorescent nanofibers, Bioconj Chem, 18, 1701-4

Book chapters.

• Law, B., and Tung, C. H. (2007) Fluorescence reporters for biomedical imaging, Wiley InterScience, Textbook of in vivo Imaging in Vertebrates 7.1, 203-210.
• Law, B., and Tung, C. H. (2007) Optical imaging of tumor-associated protease activity, Wiley InterScience, Textbook of in vivo Imaging in Vertebrates 11.6, 296-299.