Most people probably don’t think about their salivary glands – except when a mouth-watering plate arrives. But damage to the glands can have a devastating effect on a person’s quality of life, including increased infections, difficulty swallowing and speaking, and chronic pain. It’s why the University at Albany, which is part of the State University of New York, and scientists at GE Global Research are partnering to study how salivary glands might be regenerated after facial trauma or chemotherapy damage. A key tool in the study will be a new GE technology that is currently being used to visually map large networks of cancer cells for the first time.


Almost there: This image shows a non-functional developing salivary gland. Understanding how glands develop is essential if scientists are to find ways to regenerate or replace damaged tissue.

Spitting image: Here, a functional salivary gland is shown. Multiple changes occur to form structures that secrete saliva into a central cavity, shown in yellow. GE’s technology will help map the cell proteins.

Researcher Melinda Larsen, who works in the University at Albany’s Department of Biological Sciences, just received a two-year award from the National Institutes of Health to examine salivary gland development and to look for the root causes of gland disorders, including the inability to produce saliva. She’ll be collaborating with a team at GE’s Global Research Center in Niskayuna, N.Y., which is using the new GE technology to create a map of more than 25 proteins within a single tissue sample at the sub-cellular level. The technology then applies sophisticated imaging analysis tools to collect and interpret the data.

It’s the same protein mapping technology that GE announced at the recent healthymagination showcase. As part of an ongoing cancer research partnership with Eli Lilly and Company, the technology is being used to study cancer cells, with the hope that it will lead to faster drug development at less cost — and to the creation of more personalized therapies.

UAlbany’s new use for protein mapping “demonstrates the broader application it can have in biomedical research and discovery,” said GE’s Michael Gerdes, an adjunct professor at UAlbany’s Department of Biological Sciences and GE’s lead cancer cell biologist on the team. “The studies being done by Dr. Larsen will offer new insights into cellular signaling during complex developmental processes and highlight the use of this technology in areas beyond cancer drug discovery.”

* Read today’s announcement
* Watch a video about GE’s work with Eli Lilly and cancer mapping
* Read “GE announces cancer research; $250M fund; clinic aid” on GE Reports
* Read the press release about the Lilly collaboration
* Watch a video of Michael Gerdes at GE’s recent healthymagination showcase