Jeff W.M. Bulte, Ph.D.

A Johns Hopkins Medicine scientist who spent 30 years figuring out how to put chemical labels into cells to track their movement in living tissues has found that certain self-renewing stem cells have built-in tracers — made out of sugars — that can do the job without added chemical “labels” when injected into mouse brains. The finding, made with stem cells widely engineered into experimental therapies for multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases, was a welcome surprise, the investigators say.

“There is an entire scientific field dedicated to chemical and genetic cell labeling, because otherwise, we can’t see where specially and expensively engineered therapeutic cells travel and whether they get to the intended spot in a body to repair or replace diseased tissue,” says Jeff Bulte, Ph.D., professor of radiology and radiological science at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of cell imaging for the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering… Continue reading.

How did this get started?

Since about 30 years ago, we have been developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to locate and interrogate the presence of injected therapeutic cells in a living body, without the need to perform biopsies or extract tissues (which can be harmful to patients). Why is this important? At present, once stem cells are injected in patients, we don’t know where they go, how long they stay and where and for how long they survive. At the time, we were able to label immune cells magnetically by loading them with iron oxide nanoparticles, which disturb the magnetic field and make labelled cells appear “as black holes” on MRI scans. Following proof-of-principle that we could track stem cells in vivo, a dozen or so clinical trials using iron oxide-loaded cells have been performed over the last 15 years… Continue reading.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the election of Jeff W.M. Bulte, Ph.D., to its College of Fellows. Dr. Bulte was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for outstanding contributions in the development and use of cell tracking techniques.

The College of Fellows is comprised of the top two percent of medical and biological engineers in the country. The most accomplished and distinguished engineering and medical school chairs, research directors, professors, innovators, and successful entrepreneurs comprise the College of Fellows. AIMBE Fellows are regularly recognized for their contributions in teaching, research, and innovation. AIMBE Fellows have been awarded the Nobel Prize, the Presidential Medal of Science and the Presidential Medal of Technology and Innovation and many also are members of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences… Continue reading.