Vice Chancellor for Research Seminar Series

Dr. Emil Hallin, Canadian Light Source

Dr. Emil Hallin visited MU on Sept. 3, 2009 to discuss applications of the Canadian Light Source (CLS) in the detection and destruction of cancer cells. Therapies developed at the CLS have demonstrated excellent results in phantoms, and CLS scientists are now constructing a medical line for animal—and later human—studies at their facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (where they are actively seeking medical collaborators).

As Emil explained to me when I visited CLS in May, the new cancer-fighting technique involves taking a synchrotron radiation image of tissue at the K-alpha edge of an element that is selectively taken up by malignant cells. The syncrotron light beam is then de-tuned to slightly below this edge to take a contrast image for background rejection. Finally the full power of the beam, re-tuned to the K-alpha edge, is used to selectively destroy each malignant cell individually. There is no immediately apparent collateral tissue damage.
— Dr. Robert Duncan.

Need more information? Please contact the Office of Research at 573-882-9500 or smithgl@missouri.edu.

Program Schedule