Bajko, Johnny

Small molecule treatments often lack specificity, leading to off-target effects and unintended cell death. In contrast, protein therapies offer more precise targeting at lower concentrations but face significant challenges in intracellular delivery. The Jun group focuses on protein masking strategies and tumor imaging to enable treatment of otherwise untreatable diseases. Cancer remains a major global health burden, with high rates of tumor recurrence due to incomplete surgical resection. While molecular imaging tools like bifunctional activity-based probes (bABPs) have shown promise, they are limited by low specificity and selectivity. To address this, my project aims to develop a novel trifunctional activity-based probe that enables tumor-specific and persistent fluorescence, enhancing intraoperative visualization and potentially reducing recurrence rates.