Breast cancer currently affects one in every seven U.S. women, and the standard screening tool is the x-ray mammography. The limitations of conventional mammography include harmful radiation exposure, patient discomfort, and the lack of sensitivity in detecting early stage cancer, especially in the dense breast tissue found in younger women. Dr. Godavarty, a chemical engineer by training, is currently developing a hand-held based imaging device for breast cancer diagnostics that utilizes near-infrared light to collect images rather than harmful x-rays. Dr. Godavarty is a 2006 Bankhead-Coley Program Bridge Grant recipient from Florida International University.

Dr. Godavarty described the benefits of this tool: "There is no risk to the patient, since near-infrared light is not radiative. In addition, the design of the hand-held based imaging probe is such that the patient experiences no pain or discomfort due to breast compression, as in x-ray mammography." She emphasized that the method will "be relatively inexpensive and portable, certainly in comparison to MRI. Most importantly, the hand-held based optical imager will be used towards early diagnosis, eventually affecting mortality."

She explained that her accomplishments would have been interrupted without the Bankhead-Coley Bridge Grant. "The Bridge Grant helped me design and build probes for the instrument, moving my research forward. I don't know what I would have done without this grant. It definitely makes a huge difference to Florida researchers like me, who are starting their careers."

Dr. Godavarty received an NIH R15, an Academic Enhancement Research Award, for ~ $ 197,000. Her research plan includes developing the hand-held optical imager, lab testing on in vitro tissue followed by future clinical studies (prior to FDA approval of her device).

Confident that this will be a safer, more effective and more comfortable diagnostic approach, she concluded that "It's nice to do something that directly impacts the health of women. I'm proud of that."