ARLINGTON, Va., June 6, 2002 -- Three Whitaker investigators are on Technology Review magazine’s list of top 100 young innovators in the world.

The top 100 are under age 35 and are recognized for their impact on technology in biotechnology, computing, energy, manufacturing, medicine, nanotechnology, telecommunications, transporation, and other industries.

The three Whitaker investigators are: Stephen Boppart, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urban-Champaign; Susan Hagness, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and David Schaffer, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

Boppart and his collaborators have dramatically improved the resolution of optical coherence tomography (OCT) by developing microspheres filled with air or other light-scattering media. They create a stronger OCT signal than the surrounding tissue, thereby enhancing the contrast and allowing surgeons to detect and diagnose tumors earlier. Scientists could use the enhanced OCT to study how cells migrate through tissue and metastasize. It also could provide surgical guidance to find and remove a tumor while leaving more of the healthy tissue intact. Boppart has converted the imaging hardware into a handheld probe that looks like a laser pointer. A version is being used by surgeons at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston to see through a patient’s skin and internal tissue before making an incision.

Hagness is developing a breast imaging technique that allows the patient to lie comfortably on her back, rather than stand or lie face down while the breast is pressed between sheets of glass. With the breast flattened naturally, low-power microwaves scan the breast tissue looking for malignant tumors. Computer algorithms developed by Hagness give the new technique greater resolution than X-ray mammograms, and early results from breast biopsy specimens indicate that tumors are easier to spot with the microwave method than with X rays.

Schaffer is attempting to increase the rate at which stem cells in the brain multiply by using benign viruses to deliver a key protein that promotes stem cell growth. Stem cells can regenerate to replace damaged or diseased tissue, such as the damaged nerve tissue in Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s patients. Shaffer has already shown that the protein can aid in the repair of nerve cells in mice. He and his collaborators are now refining the delivery method.

The winners were picked by 24 judges who are leaders in academia and industry in the United States and five other countries.