UTARI Seminar – Dr. Ogan Gurel

Each seminar highlights a different speaker who will discuss their latest research projects, cutting-edge technology or what is happening within certain technological industries. These industries include biomedical technologies or microsystems, assistive technologies, automation and intelligent systems, unmanned systems, advanced manufacturing and composite materials.

Title:

Protein Electrodynamics & Terahertz Medicine

Abstract:

Bioelectromagnetics concerns the interaction with electromagnetic fields and waves with biological entities, from the molecular to the organismal. This seminar will provide a brief overview of this rapidly advancing field including some of the key medical applications of such technologies. Specific results concerning protein electrodynamics and terahertz medicine will also be discussed. In particular, it is well known that proteins exhibit dynamic behavior with their normal modes specifically vibrating at terahertz frequencies. These motions are essential to protein function and because these macromolecules are charged the existence of such vibrations suggest the possibility of specific interaction with electromagnetic radiation in the terahertz band. Time-domain spectroscopic experiments were performed identifying specific absorption of terahertz radiation (~0.8THz and 1.3THz) by met-hemoglobin as well as potential interactions between high frequency and low frequency modes (e.g. Stokes shift). This proof-of-concept result suggests that these protein spectroscopic signatures can serve as the basis of a novel form of molecular medical imaging; likewise terahertz-modulated manipulation of such motions may underlie new forms of therapy. Other collaborative studies now underway, including THz imaging of Cancer and Alzheimer’s disease tissues will also be highlighted.

Bio:

Dr. Ogan Gurel has had a wide-ranging career spanning clinical medicine, scientific research, industry and academia. He currently serves as a BioHealth Innovation Specialist at the University of Texas – Arlington and the Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics (MICHI). Dr. Gurel has had an extensive career in healthcare innovation with familiar names such as IBM, Samsung, Booz Allen as well as dozens of startups worldwide. Bridging the worlds of industry and academia, he has also held previous academic appointments as a Visiting Professor at the Solbridge International School of Business, Vice-Chair & Distinguished Invited Professor in the Management of Innovation program at DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology) as well as Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois – Chicago and Roosevelt University. Dr. Gurel’s over 35 years of experience spans multiple sectors: biomedical science, clinical medicine, strategy consulting, marketing, business development, executive management, marketing, and R&D management, with domain expertise in medical devices, digital healthcare, healthcare IT, molecular biophysics, and medical imaging. Prior to surgical training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Gurel obtained an MD degree Alpha Omega Alpha from the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, also doing graduate work in structural biology (M.Phil degree) and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemical Sciences cum laude from Harvard College working with Prof. Martin Karplus (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013). Authoring 14 peer-reviewed scholarly papers (as well as a novel, Waves), presenting nearly 200 conference proceedings, and co-inventor on ten patent applications (four granted), Dr. Gurel has also given keynote addresses and other speeches at scientific and business conferences and seminars worldwide. He has taught the mini-MD, a comprehensive overview of medicine for healthcare professionals for the past decade in locations worldwide, including South Korea, the United States, Italy, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.

Date:

March 29, 2024

Time:

12:00pm

Location:

UTARI Boardroom 125

7300 Jack Newell Blvd. S

Fort Worth, TX 76118

 

Comments are closed