Application of Near-infrared Fluorescence Imaging in Cancer Surgery

Prof Guo-Jun Zhang, M.D., Ph.D. After earning his PhD in Japan, Prof. Zhang worked as a postdoc and initiated molecular imaging research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute under supervision by Prof. William G. Kaelin since 1999. Returned to China in 2008, his research has been continuously focusing on the molecular imaging, particularly in real-time assessment of anticancer drug efficacy, and image-guided surgery. Most importantly he developed imaging probes with advanced features and multi-functions including deep penetration, biodegradability, radio-sensitizer, and immune-enhancer, being successfully applied in tumor detection, margin delineation, and lymph-node metastasis tracking. With over 25 years’ expertise, he is regconised as a leading international expert in the field.

Prof Jia-Hong Dong , M.D, Ph.D, ASA (Hon), ESA (Hon); Academician, Chinese Academy of the Engineering; Dean, School of Clinical Medicine, Tsinghua University; President, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital. He has attained many remarkable achievements in the field of hepatobiliary surgery, especially in the long-term management of complex biliary diseases. He was the first to propose the concept of “Precision Surgery” worldwide and has since been undertaking endeavors in establishing the associated surgical paradigms and technological systems. He has published more than 170 SCI papers as either first author or corresponding author, and has presided over the establishment of 15 industry standard guides.

Prof Li Liu, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Radiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She earned her Ph.D. in microbiology and completed postdoctoral trainings in molecular imaging and drug development. Her research focuses on preclinical cancer modelling and molecular imaging to assess novel therapeutics. She specializes in dynamic bioluminescence, fluorescence, and multispectral optoacoustic tomography for evaluating vascular-disrupting and heme-targeting agents. Her work advances imaging-guided drug development and precision oncology.

Dr Jing-Wen Bai, M.D., Associate Chief Physician at Yunnan Cancer Hospital. Her breakthroughs include developing biodegradable NIR-II fluorescence nanoprobes for real-time surgical margin guidance during breast-conserving surgery. She also engineered multifunctional probes that improve radiotherapy efficacy while enabling MRI-based tumor evaluation. Additionally, she created tumor-targeting NIR-II/radionuclide probes to detect sentinel lymph node metastases with high accuracy. Dr Bai further advanced AI applications in breast cancer, developing MRI-based predictive models for surgical margin assessment to optimize treatment planning. Her work bridges molecular imaging advancements with clinical practice, significantly improving surgical precision, therapeutic outcomes, and patient care in oncology.