Title : Molecular mechanisms are enabling clinical translation of Photobiomodulation therapy for Health and Wellness

Speaker : Praveen R Arany, BDS, MDS, MMSc, PhD

Affiliations : Associate Professor, Oral Biology, Biomedical Engineering & Surgery, University at Buffalo.

Abstract

Advances in optics and photonics technologies have enhanced the study and application of biophotonics in biology and medicine. The use of high-power, precision lasers has enabled routine clinical, surgical procedures (e.g., LASIK). Improvements in laser devices are enabling more widespread use of dental surgical lasers for oral soft tissue and hard tissue based on their higher dose photothermal (PTT) responses. Another significant area of progress has been the non-thermal, non-surgical light applications such as Photodynamic therapy (PDT) and Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy. The utility of these latter treatments is now acknowledged with the highest level of clinical evidence for periodontal disease and oral mucositis, respectively. While a significant body of laboratory and clinical research notes its efficacy, the lack of precise molecular mechanisms, and consequently, the lack of appreciation of dose and delivery have resulted in inconsistent clinical outcomes. This talk will focus on providing an overview of our current mechanistic understanding of light-biological tissue interactions focusing on outlining the major PBM therapeutic molecular mechanisms involving intracellular (mitochondria, Cytochrome C Oxidase), cell membrane (photoreceptors and transporters, TRPV1, Opsins 2-4), and extracellular (TGF-β1) followed by the clinical (real-time thermal imaging) and molecular (ATF-4) biomarkers enabling safe and effective human studies. Further, it will highlight the ongoing clinical translational research in designing and executing human clinical studies with PBM therapy in cancer care. A major emphasis of this talk is to outline the rigorous evidence-based research efforts in organizing, analyzing, and publishing the clinical evidence with a concerted, global effort for PBM treatments in the management of oncotherapy-associated oral mucositis. These aspects highlight the exciting ongoing research spectrum PBM currently encompasses that is enabling its lab to clinical translational efforts in establishing this novel clinical treatment.

Dr. Arany is trained as a dentist and an oral pathologist. He completed a joint PhD-Residency program at Harvard University as a Harvard Presidential Scholar. He has two certificates in clinical translational research from Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Health. He pursued postdoctoral fellowships at the Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, and Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences & Wyss Institute, Cambridge. Following his training, he served as an Assistant Clinical Investigator at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, from 2012 to 2015. Since 2015, he is an Associate Professor, Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University at Buffalo, New York. He also has several adjunct positions in various institutes, including the National Institute of Aging, N.I.H.; Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, University at Buffalo; School of Nursing, Shepherds University; Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy, Manipal University.

He has over 100 scientific publications with several well-cited papers to his credit. A complete list of his publications on Pubmed is available here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/praveen.arany.1/bibliography/43203900/public/?sort=date&direction=ascending

He is a recipient of numerous awards, such as the NCI Director's Young Investigator Award, Wound Healing Society's Young Investigator Award, Eugene Seidner scholar, and Horrace Furomoto Young Investigator award. He has been invited to speak in various national and international forums, reviews for over 50 scientific journals, serves on 9 journal editorial boards and is an Associate Editor in 4 of them, and reviews grants for national and international funding agencies. A complete list of his reviewing and editorial activities are available here: https://publons.com/researcher/362925/praveen-arany/

He has held several leadership positions and continued to serve in various positions in the Wound Healing Society (W.H.S.), American Association for Dental Research (A.A.D.R), Academy of Laser Dentistry (A.L.D.), American Society of Lasers in Medicine (A.S.L.M.S), American Dental Education Association (A.D.E.A). He is the immediate past president of the World Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy (W.A.L.T) and North American Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy (N.A.A.L.T), Co-Chair of the International Society of Optics and Photonics (S.P.I.E) conference on Mechanisms of Photobiomodulation therapy and technical group member, Optical Society of America (O.S.A) Technical group on Photobiomodulation and Co-Director, Center for Excellence in Photobiomodulation in Nursing, West Virginia.

His work has over 6500 citations and has an h-index of 33, and i-10 index of 62 (source: Google scholar), and iCITE index of 229 (source: N.I.H.). His work has been featured in many mainstream media highlights in over 70 countries, including Fox News, CNN, M.S.N.B.C., Washington Post, B.B.C., Reuters, and M.I.T. technical review, among many others. His research is routinely featured in both print and public media.

Besides his academic interests in clinical translational research, Dr. Arany has co-founded three biotechnology companies to translate his lab research into real-world, practical solutions to improve clinical care. He actively consults for several companies, academic and regulatory institutions. The overall scientific focus of the Arany lab is to identify key biological regulatory components that can be used in clinical studies to control biological outcomes. His research is predominantly focused on the molecular mechanisms and clinical translation of low-dose light treatments, termed Photobiomodulation Therapy, to alleviate pain or inflammation and promote tissue healing and regeneration. Work from his group has unraveled several molecular pathways that are enabling the safe and effective clinical translation of this innovative treatment. His other areas of interest include smart (sense and respond, controlled release) biomaterial systems, the dichotomy of wounds and tumors, and TGF-β signaling.