Research & Projects

In the event of a radiological terrorist event, civilians or responding military personnel will encounter situations of radioactive aerosol inhalation. During these events, first responders will need to quickly determine the levels of radioactive body burden, as they will trigger medical decisions such as chelation agents to enhance urinary excretion and minimize tissue uptake. Depending upon the biochemistry of radioactive elements, different tissues in the body will act as “source regions”. One particular important organ of concern is the human spleen.

Objectives

The focus of this project is to develop a new generation of 3D tissue models, mine being specifically of the spleen, on the microscopic scale. These models, inspired by histology slides taken from the UF Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology will be especially effective as dose-response models for alpha particle irradiation.

Responsibilities

Personal responsibilities are to order a section of histology slides, then scan in 7 areas of interest. These will then be virtually stacked and sectioned so that a 3D model can be produced from them to run particle simulations with.