August 22, 2013 — Molecular Targeting Technologies Inc. (MTTI) announced Dr. Kai Chen of the University of Southern California was awarded the 2013 Center for Molecular Imaging Innovation and Translation (CMIIT) Young Investigator Award during the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) in Vancouver, Canada. Chen presented results from his study entitled: “Synthesis and evaluation of a novel bis (zinc(II)-dipicolyamine) derivative for dual-modality PET/NIRF (positron emission tomography/near-infrared flourescence) imaging of phosphatidylserine exposure.”
This real-time assessment probe can be used to monitor tumor response in as early as one day to evaluate treatment efficacy and intervene early in treatment modification. Non-invasive imaging of drug response has a significant clinical impact and can be broadly useful for monitoring numerous conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurology and renal diseases.
Chen, assistant professor of the department of radiology at USC said, “Novel tools to assist in the non-invasive, real-time assessment of tumor response to anti-cancer treatment are urgently needed. Our current preclinical results could lead to a robust imaging agent, offering synergistic advantages, not only to allow comprehensive collection of cell death information, but also to facilitate clinical applications of image-guided surgery.”
For more information: mic.usc.edu, www.mtarget.com
January 28, 2026 
