Research
Throughout its history, the Stanford Department of Radiology has worked continuously to develop the infrastructure necessary to expand interdisciplinary research efforts in anatomic imaging, instrumentation development, molecular imaging, nanotechnology, information sciences, systems biology, and interventional therapeutic advances. Coupling this rich biomedical imaging foundation with an energetic, forward thinking, and creative faculty and staff, we are able to introduce leading-edge imaging solutions and technology to other research communities and into clinical practice.
Our Department is made up of four primary research sections with each providing specific areas of focus but all collaborating in a highly interdisciplinary environment. These four Sections (with year established) are:
- Radiological Sciences Laboratory (RSL) (established 1990)
- Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS) (established 2003)
- Integrative Biomedical Imaging Informatics at Stanford (IBIIS) (established 2008)
- Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection (established 2009)
Stanford Radiology has been among the top ten NIH-funded radiology departments each year since 2005. Please visit the Academy of Radiology Research for a complete list of 2014 NIH funding to radiology departments nationwide.
Our excellent team, including faculty, staff, and trainees, excels at maintaining Stanford Radiology as a strong academic leader with recognized excellence in clinical and basic research. For details of NIH funding, please search NIH RePORTER for Stanford University Radiology.
Research Sections
CAMPUS-WIDE COLLABORATIONS
We work with almost three hundred faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students, and research staff from across the University. We wish to thank you all for the friendly, productive collaborations that we enjoy all year long.
Research Cores & Centers
3D and Quantitative (3DQ) Imaging Lab
Through interdisciplinary collaboration, Stanford Radiology's 3DQ Imaging Lab develops and applies innovative techniques for the efficient quantitative analysis and display of medical imaging data used in training, research, and the delivery of patient care.
Biostatistics
Stanford's Health Research and Policy, Division of Biostatistics, is involved in the research activities of every clinical division in the School of Medicine, many basic science departments, as well as national efforts. The Biostatistics Division expects to be an integral part of the growth of biomedical science in the near and long term.
Cell/Molecular Biology
Part of the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, the Cell/Molecular Biology Core facilitates the development of tools for early diagnosis of cancers. Well equipped, the Core develops and characterizes antibody and ligand-based probes for targeted molecular imaging, thus supporting the development of highly sensitive multifunctional optical, PET and MRI probes for imaging cancers by targeting cancer-specific cellular targets.
Chemistry
One of the basic Research Cores at the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, the Chemistry Core offers instrumentation capability for synthesis, analysis, and characterization of both small and large biologically significant molecules. The Core's chemists design and develop novel molecular agents for both in vivo and in vitro early detection of cancer. Molecular imaging agents in development include optical, photoacoustic, and multimodality probes, as well as agents for non-imaging strategies such as blood biomarker sensors.
Computational Modeling
Stanford Radiology's Integrative Biomedical Imaging Informatics at Stanford (IBIIS) offers critical computational modeling capabilities. This Core is developing the capability to collect annotated imaging, clinical and molecular data, and integrate them by creating databases that encode the relationships among them. These pioneering methods are improving the diagnostic and treatment planning value of images and leading the way to personalized, less-invasive approaches to early detection and treatment, while also improving our understanding of human biology and disease.
Image Quantitation, Analysis and Visualization Specialized Resources
Originally formed to support research and developmental projects within the ICMIC@Stanford program, the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), and other collaborative research groups, the Image Quantitation, Analysis and Visualization specialized resource provides training and support on various molecular imaging data analysis and visualization software tools and methods. The resource provides project-based expert advice for basic science and clinician investigators to maximize the quantitative nature of their image data analysis.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
The Richard M. Lucas Center for Imaging, home to the NIH-funded Center for Advanced Magnetic Resonance Technology (CAMRT), houses facilities for MR imaging at multiple fields and for magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Stanford Radiology's MR group also maintains and operates a 7T small bore system in the small animal imaging lab (SCI3). Members of the Radiological Sciences Lab (RSL) have pioneered MRI/MRS technology while developing new techniques that benefit patients with stroke, cancer, heart disease, and brain disorders. MRI research conducted at the Lucas Center includes collaborative and original research using human subjects and also intact animal models.
Proteomics
The Proteomics Core Facility in the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection is a state-of-the-art mass spectrometry resource dedicated to the discovery and verification of blood-based protein biomarkers. This Core is developing and implementing a high throughput biomarker verification platform that exploits magnetic nanoparticle-facilitated immunoaffinity capture as a prelude to mass spectrometric biomarker quantification.
Radiochemistry and Cyclotron
The Radiochemistry Facility and Cyclotron are located on the first floor of the Lucas Expansion building. The cyclotron produces radioisotopes for both clinical and research use and is surrounded by an FDG production lab and research hot labs. Used for production of research radiopharmaceuticals that support clinical and PET studies at the Stanford University Medical Center and the SCI3, these hot labs also house radiochemistry research for the development of new radiopharmaceuticals.
Stanford Center for Innovation in In-Vivo Imaging (SCI3) Lab - Small Animal Imaging
Housed in the Clark Building, the Stanford Center for Innovation in In-Vivo Imaging (SCI3) applies and advances technologies for in-vivo biological assessment and imaging in animal models. The lab's instrumentation supports the development of reagents and approaches that reveal in-vivo changes at the molecular and cellular levels to gain a greater understanding from animal models. The SCI3 lab provides a test bed for evaluating human imaging reagents and strategies building upon the enrichment of data sets, as well as the flexibility and rapid analyses garnered from animal models.
Grants
Training Grants
Stanford Cancer Imaging Training (SCIT) Program (NIH/NCI T32 CA 09695)
Contact: Sofia Gonzales
Stanford Molecular Imaging Scholars - SMIS (NIH/NCI 2R25CA118681-06)
Contact: Sofia Gonzales
Cancer Systems Biology Scholars - CSBS (NIH)
Contact: Holly Chung
Center Grants
The National Center for Advanced Magnetic Resonance Technology at Stanford (CAMRT - P41; 1995)
PI: Gary Glover, PhD
Cancer Center for Systems Biology (CCSB - U54)
PI: Sylvia Plevritis, PhD
Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Cancer Interventions (MRI-GCI - P01; 2011)
PI: Kim Butts Pauly, PhD