Research Summary

Physician-scientist with expertise in electrical engineering focusing on integrated circuits, and micro-fabricated sensors for cancer imaging with a clinical practice in Radiation Oncology. I specialize in the multimodality treatment of malignancies with a focus on prostate cancer using focal, targeted radiation therapy. The primary focus of my laboratory is to identify where gaps in diagnostic information and therapeutic tools compromise patient care, and develop tools to solve these problems.

Research Funding

  • January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2029 - Early identification of immunotherapy resistance through integrated multiparameter imaging , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA290027
  • June 15, 2023 - May 31, 2027 - Chip-Scale Intraoperative Optical Navigation with Immunotargeted Upconverting Nanoparticles , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA278672
  • September 10, 2020 - June 30, 2025 - Implantable Nanophotonic Sensors for in Vivo Immunoresponse , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: DP2DE030713
  • March 1, 2019 - January 31, 2022 - An Ultra-Thin Molecular Imaging Skin for Intraoperative Imaging of Microscopic Residual Disease in Cancer , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21EB027238
  • October 1, 2005 - September 30, 2019 - Identification and Treatment of Microscopic Residual and Recurrent Disease in Prostate Cancer Using in Vivo Microfabricated Sensors and Targeted Biologics , Principle Investigator . Sponsor: Department of Defense, Sponsor Award ID: PC141609
  • June 1, 2016 - May 29, 2019 - An Interferometric CMOS DC-­-Terahertz Lab on a Chip Biosensor , Co-Principle Investigator . Sponsor: National Science Foudnation, Sponsor Award ID: 1608958
  • July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2017 - The Development of a microfabricated Fluorescent Imager for Real-­- Time, Intraoperative Imaging of Microscopic Residual Disease in Breast Cancer , Principle Investigator . Sponsor: Mary Kay Ash Foundation, Sponsor Award ID: P0506430
  • March 1, 2015 - July 1, 2016 - Identification of Microscopic Residual Disease in Prostate Cancer using in-­- vivo Microfabricated Sensors and Targeted Biologics , Principle Investigator . Sponsor: UCSF Research Allocation Program, Sponsor Award ID:
  • April 1, 2013 - June 1, 2015 - Development of a Real-­-Time Intraoperative Fluorescent Imager for Microscopic Residual Tumor , Co-Principle Investigator . Sponsor: National Center for Research Resources and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), Sponsor Award ID: UL1 TR000004 (Parent Grant)

Education

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
  • University of California, San Francisco, Doctor of Medicine (MD), School of Medicine

Honors & Awards

  • NIH New Innovator Award (DP2)  (National Institutes of Health)
  • AACR-Novocure Career Development Award* (American Association of Cancer Research)
    *Awarded but institutionally declined due to intellectual property restrictions.
  • NIH Trailblazer Award (National Institutes of Health)
  • Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program Physician Award (DOD)

Selected Publications

  1. Susko M, Wang CJ, Lazar AA, Kim S, Laffan A, Feng M, Ko A, Venook AP, Atreya CE, Van Loon K, Anwar M. Factors Impacting Differential Outcomes in the Definitive Radiation Treatment of Anal Cancer Between HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Patients. Oncologist. 2020 09; 25(9):772-779.  View on PubMed
  2. Gharia A, Papageorgiou EP, Giverts S, Park C, Anwar M. Signal to Noise Ratio as a Cross-Platform Metric for Intraoperative Fluorescence Imaging. Mol Imaging. 2020 Jan-Dec; 19:1536012120913693.  View on PubMed
  3. Papageorgiou EP, Boser BE, Anwar M. Chip-Scale Angle-Selective Imager for In Vivo Microscopic Cancer Detection. IEEE Trans Biomed Circuits Syst. 2020 02; 14(1):91-103.  View on PubMed
  4. Najafiaghdam H, Papageorgiou E, Torquato NA, Tian B, Cohen BE, Anwar M. A 25 micron-thin microscope for imaging upconverting nanoparticles with NIR-I and NIR-II illumination. Theranostics. 2019; 9(26):8239-8252.  View on PubMed
  5. Ahmad TR, Susko M, Lindquist K, Anwar M. Socioeconomic disparities in timeliness of care and outcomes for anal cancer patients. Cancer Med. 2019 12; 8(17):7186-7196.  View on PubMed
  6. Savoie MB, Laffan A, Brickman C, Daniels B, Levin A, Rowen T, Smith J, Van Blarigan EL, Hope TA, Berry-Lawhorn JM, Anwar M, Van Loon K. A multi-disciplinary model of survivorship care following definitive chemoradiation for anal cancer. BMC Cancer. 2019 Sep 11; 19(1):906.  View on PubMed
  7. Tian B, Fernandez-Bravo A, Najafiaghdam H, Torquato NA, Altoe MVP, Teitelboim A, Tajon CA, Tian Y, Borys NJ, Barnard ES, Anwar M, Chan EM, Schuck PJ, Cohen BE. Low irradiance multiphoton imaging with alloyed lanthanide nanocrystals. Nat Commun. 2018 08 06; 9(1):3082.  View on PubMed
  8. Chien JC, Ameri A, Yeh EC, Killilea AN, Anwar M, Niknejad AM. A high-throughput flow cytometry-on-a-CMOS platform for single-cell dielectric spectroscopy at microwave frequencies. Lab Chip. 2018 07 10; 18(14):2065-2076.  View on PubMed
  9. Papageorgiou EP, Zhang H, Giverts S, Park C, Boser BE, Anwar M. Real-time cancer detection with an integrated lensless fluorescence contact imager. Biomed Opt Express. 2018 Aug 01; 9(8):3607-3623.  View on PubMed
  10. Najafiaghdam H, Papageorgiou P, Torquato NA, Tajon CA, Zhang H, Park C, Boser B, Cohen BE, Anwar M. A Molecular Imaging "Skin A Time-resolving Intraoperative Imager for Microscopic Residual Cancer Detection Using Enhanced Upconverting Nanoparticles. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2018 Jul; 2018:1-4.  View on PubMed
  11. Papageorgiou EP, Giverts S, Zhang H, Park C, Boser BE, Anwar M. Imaging of IR700DX Labeled Mouse Breast Tumor Using a Custom Angle-Selective Fluorescence Contact Imaging System. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2018 Jul; 2018:1-4.  View on PubMed
  12. Garcia MA, Anwar M, Yu Y, Duriseti S, Merritt B, Nakamura J, Hess C, Theodosopoulos PV, McDermott M, Sneed PK, Braunstein SE. Brain metastasis growth on preradiosurgical magnetic resonance imaging. Pract Radiat Oncol. 2018 Nov - Dec; 8(6):e369-e376.  View on PubMed
  13. Chapman CH, McGuinness C, Gottschalk AR, Yom SS, Garsa AA, Anwar M, Braunstein SE, Sudhyadhom A, Keall P, Descovich M. Influence of respiratory motion management technique on radiation pneumonitis risk with robotic stereotactic body radiation therapy. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2018 Jul; 19(4):48-57.  View on PubMed
  14. Papageorgiou EP, Zhang H, Boser BE, Park C, Anwar M. Angle-insensitive amorphous silicon optical filter for fluorescence contact imaging. Opt Lett. 2018 Feb 01; 43(3):354-357.  View on PubMed
  15. Wahl M, Anwar M, Hess CP, Chang SM, Lupo JM. Relationship between radiation dose and microbleed formation in patients with malignant glioma. Radiat Oncol. 2017 Aug 10; 12(1):126.  View on PubMed
  16. Anwar M, Molinaro AM, Morin O, Chang SM, Haas-Kogan DA, Nelson SJ, Lupo JM. Identifying Voxels at Risk for Progression in Glioblastoma Based on Dosimetry, Physiologic and Metabolic MRI. Radiat Res. 2017 09; 188(3):303-313.  View on PubMed
  17. Paulsson AK, Yom SS, Anwar M, Pinnaduwage D, Sudhyadhom A, Gottschalk AR, Chang AJ, Descovich M. Respiration-Induced Intraorgan Deformation of the Liver: Implications for Treatment Planning in Patients Treated With Fiducial Tracking. Technol Cancer Res Treat. 2017 Dec; 16(6):776-782.  View on PubMed
  18. Anwar M, Yu Y, Glastonbury CM, El-Sayed IH, Yom SS. Delineation of radiation therapy target volumes for cutaneous malignancies involving the ophthalmic nerve (cranial nerve V-1) pathway. Pract Radiat Oncol. 2016 Nov - Dec; 6(6):e277-e281.  View on PubMed
  19. Anwar M, Weinberg V, Seymour Z, Hsu IJ, Roach M, Gottschalk AR. Outcomes of hypofractionated stereotactic body radiotherapy boost for intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer. Radiat Oncol. 2016 Jan 21; 11:8.  View on PubMed
  20. Fogh S, Wahl M, Anwar M, Haas-Kogan D, Clarke JL, Sneed PK. Standardization and quality assurance of radiation therapy volumes for adults with high-grade gliomas. Semin Radiat Oncol. 2014 Oct; 24(4):259-64.  View on PubMed

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