Dr. Elisa Konofagou, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Radiology at Columbia University, presented her extensive work on the use of focused ultrasound to deliver drugs through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in a seminar at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 19th.
About 75 staff members from both the Center for Devices and Radiological Health and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research attended the seminar. Konofagou introduced the challenge of the BBB, reviewed the basics of focused ultrasound, and described how focused ultrasound has been used in her laboratory to enhance delivery of drugs in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease preclinical models. The blood-brain barrier work conducted in the Konofagou laboratory has been funded in part by the Foundation through the External Awards Program.