Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston, Texas, United States
Omkar Ijare is trained bioanalytical chemist and have over 15 years of experience as a biomedical researcher. His research is centered on applying NMR and MS techniques to biomedical problems. Previously he worked on the detection of hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies through the analysis of pancreaticobiliary fluids such as bile and pancreatic juice using NMR spectroscopy. He has also worked towards
the translation of ex vivo NMR methodologies into in vivo MRS methods (using 3T Siemens MRI clinical
scanners) for the non-invasive diagnostics of hepatobiliary diseases. Currently, He is investigating the
metabolism of brain tumors (gliomas, DIPG, GBM, meningiomas, and pituitary adenomas) and brain metastases
through the analysis of surgically resected brain tumor tissues and patient-derived primary brain tumor cell lines,
by 1H/13C NMR spectroscopy and MS based metabolic flux analysis using 13C-labeled substrates as stable isotope tracers. Based on the preliminary data on pituitary adenomas and meningioma patients, they have initiated an in vivo MRS study using 7.0T Siemens MRI
scanner to study the metabolism of these tumors non-invasively with the goal of identifying metabolite markers
to distinguish different histological types of pituitary adenomas and meningiomas. Such studies will help
identify biomarkers for the non-invasive diagnostics of brain tumors including the identification of specific metabolic pathways
which can be targeted to develop novel therapies for the treatment of pituitary and brain tumors.
