Dr. Jie Zheng, professor of chemistry in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, was awarded $900,000 from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) for his research on Advance CT And Fluorescence Imaging Of Kidney Cancers With Glutathione-mediated Contrast Enhancements. Dr. Zheng’s goal is to advance both CT and fluorescence imaging of kidney cancers with ICG conjugated glutathione coated sub-nm gold nanoclusters (GS-AuNCs). With this advancement, kidney retention, tumor targeting, clearance, and output can be precisely modulated with unique physiological functions of glutathione and size-dependent particle transport in the sub-nm regime to achieve high contrast enhancements.