Primary Appointment

Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment

The focus of my research is two-fold: image guided therapy and small animal imaging.  For image guided therapy, I share the MR Guided Therapy (MRGT) lab with Dr. Jason Stafford.  The thrust of the lab has been the development of MR acquisition and processing algorithms for imaging temperature in vivo in real-time - MR temperature imaging (MRTI).  We have applied MRTI techniques to a monitor tumor ablation from a variety of thermal therapy systems including high-intensity focused ultrasound (HiFU), interstitial ultrasound applicators and lasers.  For the laser work we have also used gold nanoshell technologies to enhance the heating and improve the heat distribution patterns in collaboration with scientists at Rice University (Drs. Naomi Halas and Jennifer West) and with Nanospectra Biosciences.  Most recently, we partnered with Drs. Tinsley Oden (Center for Advanced Computation and Engineering Science) and Ken Diller (Biomedical Engineering) from the University of Texas at Austin to develop a dynamic, closed-loop system for managing heat-shock protein expressing using real-time MRTI feedback.  Work in the lab has been funded by NCI, NIBIB and NSF.

I am also the Director of the Small Animal Imaging Facility (SAIF), an institutional research resource partially funded by the Cancer Center Support Grant (P30 CA16672), and the Director of the Experimental Cancer Imaging Research Program (U24 CA126577).  The SAIF is a facility available to all faculty at M. D. Anderson for imaging mice and rats.  SAIF instrumentation includes MR (4.7 and 7.0 T Bruker Biospec systems), nuclear (planar gamma camera with SPECT capability and a micro-PET), x-ray computed tomography (micro-CT and speciment CT), high-resolution projection radiography (digital Faxitron), micro-ultrasound (Vevo 770) and optical (Xenogen Spectrum bioluminescence-biofluorescence).  Services available through SAIF include consultation on imaging protocols, assistance with experimental design and image analysis support.  The ECIRP is a mechanism for developing new collaborative research projects and for developing or implementing novel new technologies.  Novel technologies currently being implemented include hyperpolarized MR spectroscopy with Dr. Jim Bankson and photo-acoustic imaging with Drs. Stas Emelianov and Kostia Sokolov.

Last updated: 8/30/2011