The Augusta University Nuclear Science Lab is focused on education, nuclear cardiology instrumentation, and diabetes clinical research. Director Greg Passmore is uniquely qualified to pursue and integrate these three seemingly independent areas: he has graduate degrees in biology, science education, and nuclear engineering-medical physics, and more than 20 years of teaching and scholarship experience.
Dr. Passmore is skilled in the analysis of classroom outcomes data and experienced in the applications of clinical evaluation methods, from planning to monitoring and statistical analysis of clinical testing and practices. His research in gamma ray attenuation in dense metals for applications in nuclear cardiology is facilitated by a background in nuclear engineering with an emphasis in medical physics, as well as practical experiences as a nuclear medicine technologist performing imaging studies in nuclear cardiology clinics.
Concept Mapping: a learning intervention and assessment tool to promote conceptual
understanding and clinical reasoning in education.
Empirical evidence strongly supports concept mapping, and outcomes from this ongoing
investigation have been reported on state, regional, national, and international levels.
Nuclear Cardiology Instrumentation: attenuation of gamma rays in dense metals. Dense metal collimator alternatives to lead (Pb) focuses on the measurement of the interactions of low energy gamma rays with dense metals for applications in nuclear cardiology collimators. Successful application would enable simultaneous dual isotope cardiac perfusion/viability imaging. Sponsored in part by the Center for Undergraduate Research.
Diabetes Clinical Research: the effects of diabetic ketoacidosis on inflammation in pediatric patients. Current emphasis is on cardiac inflammatory markers and physiologic response. However, this research has also been directed at other organ systems with known microvasculature, such as lungs, and the impact of DKA on the brain and the patient's neurocognitive responses.
Hoffman WH, Passmore GG, Hannon DW, Talor MV, Fox P, Brailer C, Haislip D, Keel C,
Harris G, Rose NR, Fiordalisi I, & Cihakova D. "Increased systemic Th17 cytokines
are associated with diastolic dysfunction in children and adolescents with diabetic
ketoacidosis."
PLOS ONE. 8(8):e71905.2013. (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.l0071905)
Passmore G, Owen M, and Prabakaran, K. "Empirical evidence of the effectiveness of
concept mapping as a learning intervention for distance learning NMT students in a
radiation protection and biology course." Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology, 201139:284-289 (10.2967/jnmt.111.093062).
Passmore GG, Lynam TF, & Spradlin JL. "Measurement of Low Energy Gamma Rays with Dense
Metals for Applications in Nuclear Cardiology Imaging" Georgia Journal of Science, V72(1):54. 2014.