Pioneerism in biophotonics

The result of coupling optics and medicine, photonic therapies have become a reality in Brazil thanks to research conducted in the past decade by the São Carlos Optics and Photonics Research Center (Cepof).

By Fábio de Castro

Agência FAPESP – The result of coupling optics and medicine, photonic therapies have become a reality in Brazil thanks to research conducted in the past decade by the São Carlos Optics and Photonics Research Center (Cepof). These new techniques allow for the use of laser beams to treat cancer, for example, thus avoiding the undesirable effects of chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery.

Putting Brazil on the global map for clinical application of biophotonics is just one of Cepof’s many accomplishments, according to coordinator Vanderlei Bagnato, professor of the Physics Institute at Universidade de São Paulo (USP - São Carlos).

Cepof was one of the centers selected in 2000 under the first call for proposals for Research, Innovation and Dissemination Centers (CEPID). FAPESP funding for CEPIDs is on an 11-year cycle. In 2011, the Foundation published the second call for the program, under which up to 15 proposals will be chosen for creation of new centers.

The objective of CEPIDs is to develop fundamental research and science focused on transferring technology in addition educational activities and dissemination of knowledge. According to Bagnato, the CEPID program established a new manner of conducting research in Brazil because it allowed those involved to undertake studies that would have been inconceivable without long-term investments.

“We stopped focusing solely on research with immediate results and began to venture out to those challenges that have more lasting and significant effects. The program allowed us to invest in research that demanded more time to generate results,” he told Agência FAPESP.

According to Bagnato, in Cepof’s specific case, the perennial nature of the research guaranteed under the CEPID format made it possible for photonic therapy to become viable for clinical use in Brazil. The advances in this area, according to him, leveraged financing from other sources like the Brazilian Innovation Agency (Finep) and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES).

“Biophotonics took off in the country with the development of photodynamic therapy and applications geared towards microbiological control. But Cepof’s pioneerism has also manifested in other areas,  such as studies with quantum fluids and the development of technologies that allow us to build the only atomic clock in the Southern Hemisphere,” he affirmed.

The conception of the CEPID program, according to Bagnato, also allowed for exploitation of the inherent interdisciplinary nature of scientific frontiers. According to him, Cepof’s long-term perspective allowed for the interconnection of several research programs surrounding the São Carlos center.

“This is what allowed for a deeper connection between optics and the health field. These possibilities begot world-class excellence. Today, thanks to the CEPID, we are global leaders in diagnosis of cancerous lesions using light technology, as well as in treatment of skin cancer with photonic therapies,” he highlights.

In addition to advances in knowledge, the connection between research programs allowed for implementation of technological innovation based on science, according to Bagnato. “Many companies were born of these projects. Clearly, development of these companies would be difficult in just two or three years.  And these are not opportunistic projects, but rather establishment projects based in science,” he explains.

Pioneerism in quantum gases

According to Bagnato, the context of excellence created by the CEPID allowed the scientists to venture into serious and complex matters such as research on quantum gas with experiments in Bose-Einstein condensation – a state of matter formed by atoms at very near absolute zero temperatures and that allows for observation of quantum effects in a macroscopic scale.  
 
“We are the only Latin American laboratory that conducts work in this area that is on par with that in countries in the Northern Hemisphere. We are pioneers in quantum turbulence studies on atomic fluids,” he said.
Cepof studies on quantum turbulence in quantum superfluids, like Bose-Einstein condensate, yielded publications in Nature, Science News and the bulletin of the North American Physics Society, among others.

“All these high impact vehicles highlighted our efforts. But the main thing is that, regardless of whether they were published, these studies would have generated a major impact on the international community due to the relevance and pioneerism. Our studies were the seed for many groups that are currently developing works in the quantum fluids area,” he notes.

Another positive impact of Cepof’s activities was dissemination of science. Because the center gave scientific dissemination the same standing as research itself, Cepof fostered motivation among its scientists.
“We organized infrastructure for dissemination of science that is becoming world renowned. This includes a TV channel, activities for the general public and for elementary and high school students. We recognized that science must be part of everybody’s activities,” says Bagnato.

Among the objectives of CEPIDs is transferring knowledge to benefit society and this dissemination, according to Bagnato, has contributed toward an ongoing cultural shift in the Brazilian scientific community in relation to the importance given to publication.

“You won’t find a scientist today that is not concerned about disseminating science. Ten years ago, this was only for those working in pedagogy and education. But now the researcher is concerned about making society understand science,” he says.

According to Bagnato, as part of its scientific dissemination initiatives, Cepof organized preparatory classes for students participating in the scientific Olympics. “The result of this collective effort is that for the first time, we have a gold medal in the Physics Olympics. We’ll do better yet,” he declared.

The success of CEPIDs, according to Bagnato, has also inspired other developments on the national level with the creation of National Institutes of Science and Technology. “I am convinced that CEPIDs have changed the way we do science in São Paulo and this accomplishment has motivated the creation of a national program following the same format,” he said.