December 2007

Awards and Honors: January 3, 2008

Yvonne Casillas, RT, RIS/PACS system analyst, received the October Wingspread Award from the former recipient, Linn Dee Barrientos, CRT. The Wingspread Award gives employees the opportunity to recognize who among them has gone above and beyond the fulfillment of his or her usual duties. Wingspread awardees can keep the award for as long as they wish or until they discover another "special performer." Monthly awarding of the Wingspread honor is encouraged as part of the SHC departmental staff meetings. Ms. Casillas grew up in Chicago, the youngest of five children. She graduated from a hospital-based RT program at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, which is not only one of the most recognized trauma departments in the country, but is also the model upon which the fictional hospital of County General Hospital from the NBC serial medical drama "ER" is based. Ms. Casillas added that her experience at Cook County Hospital in Chicago "was truly one of the best experiences I ever had. There was never a dull moment." She also worked for the University of Illinois at Chicago Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital as a CT technologist. She moved to San Francisco from Chicago two years ago and is currently living in Pacifica, which she enjoys because of its proximity to the beach. At Stanford, she has worked as a CT technologist performing CT examinations; assisted physicians during special procedures; and supervised staff. She is currently working in radiology administration as a systems analyst on the newly upgraded RIS/PACS system. She was originally brought on the team to help train users and to build and test the system before its implementation, and she continues to remain as a support for both RIS/PACS applications. Because of her outstanding work in radiology, Ms. Casillas was awarded the Wingspread Award, which is given by one employee to another who has proven that he or she is a "special performer" by demonstrating exemplary performance in areas such as job knowledge; work ethics; communication skills; inter- and intradepartmental relationships; versatility; and judgment. When she is not working, her hobbies include dance, specifically Hula Hoop dance. Her motto is "Think Green!"

Tsinghua University's "Oversea Expert," Dr. Gary Glover

By Julie Ruiz, PhD

As he jogged along the banks of the Wanquan River sharing the path with a swarm of bicyclists, Dr. Gary Glover wound through the campus of Tsinghua University in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing. Selected by Tsinghua University as their "Oversea Expert," Dr. Glover came to the University to share his scientific expertise and knowledge with their faculty and students as they initiate their own MRI program. He brought graduate student Catie Chang with him for part of the trip.

Sponsored jointly by the National Office of Foreign Experts and the Department of Education, Tsinghua's "Oversea Expert Program" is designed to bring "recipients of important international awards . . ., professors of world-renowned universities, and other established experts who have a great reputation in their corresponding international research community" to help train students and faculty in MR research and program design as well as to offer specialty courses and to provide guidance and consulting for research projects. Tsinghua University has over 20,000 students (including 12,000 undergraduates, 6,200 master's degree candidates and 2,800 doctoral candidates) and approximately 8 colleges, 43 departments, 44 research institutes, 9 engineering research centers, and 163 laboratories. The University also offers 37 bachelor's degree programs, 107 master's degree programs, and 64 PhD programs.

Karen Ying, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Engineering Physics and the Medical Physics and Engineering Institute, extended the invitation honoring Dr. Glover as Tsinghua University's Oversea Expert, who is to return annually for one month each year for a total of three years to provide scientific expertise and continuing guidance for Tsinghua's MRI program. Dr. Ying teaches a graduate course on the principles of magnetic resonance imaging. She and her three undergraduate and three graduate students comprise the whole MR imaging program for the University. They have no scanners; all MR and CT research is done at local hospitals. The University is constructing a medical school.

Dr. Ying has been a professor at Tsinghua for two years; prior to that, she taught and researched in the United States for ten years. Her father has taught in Tsinghua's Department of Engineering Physics for over 57 years. In talking with him, Dr. Glover learned that during the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao's reign, Dr. Ying's father was forced to quit the University and work on the farms for one and a half years. Although a professor emeritus, he still has five graduate students with whom he works.

During his visit from November 15th to December 5th, Dr. Glover gave 9 two-hour class lectures, and Ms. Chang gave 2. His lectures covered such topics as pulse sequence design and fast imaging techniques; the principles of diffusion/perfusion MRI and flow imaging; and functional MRI. He described the building in which he lectured as "gigantic with hundreds of classrooms that were busy from 0 o'clock in the morning until N o'clock at night." "Even as I walked around at 9 PM," Dr. Glover remarked, "there were students in the classrooms studying. There was a constant bustle of people around me, and bikes where everywhere at all hours; there were few cars on campus and no students' cars."

In addition to his lectures, Dr. Glover held two public evening colloquia and three meetings with University officials including the university president, provost, Vice President Ke-Jun Kang, Medical School Dean Zhao, and the Department of Engineering Physics Head Tang Chuanxiang. One topic he and the University faculty and administration discussed was the possibility of a foreign exchange program for graduate-level research/education between Tsinghua and Stanford to foster strong collaboration between our two institutions. He also spoke at a meeting with General Electric regarding research collaboration between GE, Stanford, and Tsinghua.

Established in 1911, Tsinghua University was built on the site of "Qing Hua Yuan," a former royal garden of the Qing Dynasty. Dr. Glover stayed at the guest house, which was across from a small island known as Jinchun Garden, where the eighth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Xian Feng, had lived. From 8 AM until about 10 AM, Dr. Glover was greeted by the sights and sounds of people dancing to traditional Chinese music in the -20 degrees Fahrenheit weather in Han Pavilion of Jinchun Garden, which is surrounded by a lake with scenic bridges.

Han Pavilion

Also undaunted by the cold weather were the "pillbox" guards who stood watch over the campus from 6 AM until around 11 PM.

During his visit, he was amazed by the excellent customer service he received, "I went into the equivalent of a 'Best Buy,' and there were 27 clerks in the camera department waiting to help me. In the local pharmacy, there were 11 clerks--one every foot and a half of counter space. When my card key didn't work in my hotel door, two people and part of a third person came to remedy it after an extensive discussion. The service was wonderful!" While the customer service was excellent, the air quality was not: "I saw four power plants on campus burning coal; I never saw the sun; it was always filtered through the haze, and there were no stars at night. It was hard to breathe as I jogged on campus."

In his free time, Dr. Glover did some sightseeing in Beijing, a city of over 15 million people. He toured the Great Wall of China; the Forbidden City and its "Hall of Medium Harmony" (something has been lost in the translation); Tian Anmen Square; the Lao She Tea House; Fragrance Hill; the Sleeping Budha; the Botanical Garden; the Thirteen Ming Tombs; and the Chairman Mao Solemn Memorial. The streets were packed with bicyclists as most goods were transported by bicycle cart. While in Beijing, he also had the opportunity to visit a CT manufacturing site.

His visit to Tsinghua University was only part of his three and a half week "lecture circuit." Prior to coming to Beijing, Dr. Glover had flown to the University of Maryland where he gave two lectures: one on real-time fMRI and another on alternative fMRI methods. On his way home from Beijing, he flew to the University of Vancouver, B.C., to give another lecture because Judy Illes, PhD, the Canada research chair in neuroethics at the University of Vancouver and former director of grants in our Department, had invited Dr. Glover to give a lecture for their colloquium series.

Announcements IV: December 19, 2007

Cystic Fibrosis Fundraiser Walk: April 27, 2008
Stanford Athletics Announces Free Admission Policy: All but seven sports are now free to fans, students, and the public.

Cystic Fibrosis Fundraiser Walk: Sunday, April 27, 2008, at 9:30 AM at the Stanford Dean's Lawn. The 2008 national fund-raising goal of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is to raise $40 million. Come be a part of their fundraiser by registering at http://www.cff.org/great_strides/find_a_walk_site/. For more information, please access http://www.cff.org/great%5Fstrides/.

Stanford Athletics Announces Free Admission Policy: All but seven sports are now free to fans, students, and the public. Bob Bowlsby, director of Stanford Athletics, announced at the end of October 2007 that free admission will be provided to all previously ticketed regular season athletic events (that are not special events, post-season, or NCAA championships), with the exception of football, men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, baseball, and men's and women's soccer. Stanford Athletics will also continue to charge an admission fee for the Stanford Invitational Track Meet on April 4-5, 2008. All other previously ticketed athletic events will be free such as men's volleyball, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's water polo, lacrosse, men's and women's tennis, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, synchronized swimming, wrestling, and men's and women's track and field (with the exception of the Stanford Invitational). Sports that have not had an admission fee in the past will remain free; this includes men's and women's golf, men's and women's rowing, field hockey, fencing, squash, and sailing. For more information, please access http://gostanford.cstv.com/genrel/103107aaa.html.

People and Their Pets: Sugar

Yvonne Casillas, RIS/PACS systems analyst, submitted this photo of her cat, Sugar, who likes sleeping and chasing birds.

New Staff Hires and Promotions: December 17, 2007

Regina Clarke-Katzenberg, MS, has been the life science research assistant (LSRA) to Dr. Rusty Hofmann in cardiovascular interventional radiology (CVIR) since May of 2007 and became the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS) (P087) lab manager in November of 2007. Regina was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City and has dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland. She received her BS in biochemistry from Cornell University in 1985 and her MS in molecular biology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1987. Regina has been at Stanford since 1989, with publications from work in three departments prior to joining CVIR: Molecular Pharmacology (dioxin-induced CYP1A1p450 mouse liver gene regulation); Transplant Surgery (competing effects of TNF and EBV or MLR on HUVEC activation); and Cardiovascular Medicine (impact of nitric oxide regulation on cardiovascular disease and tumor angiogenesis). Her current focus in radiology is multi-modal imaging to develop clinically feasible therapies. Regina has two teenage sons, Ben and Adlai, and a best friend, George. Their hobbies include Los Altos High School Water Polo, skiing, and boating.

Awards and Honors: December 17, 2007

2007 IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Medical Imaging Travel Grant Winners Frances Lau, MS, Peter Olcott, and Guillem Pratx, MS, were awarded travel grants to present their novel and original work at the 2007 IEEE NSS-MIC (Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging) Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Frances Lau, MS, graduate student in the Molecular Imaging Instrumentation Laboratory (MIIL), gave an oral presentation at the 2007 IEEE NSS-MIC Conference on the different methods for simplifying the circuits in the data acquisition system she and her colleagues are developing for a 1mm3 resolution breast-dedicated PET system. Ms. Lau's research interests include circuits and devices for biomedical applications; she is currently working on the design and development of hardware for a breast cancer imaging PET system.

Peter Olcott, graduate student in the Bioengineering Department and member of the Molecular Imaging Instrumentation Laboratory, gave a talk at the 2007 IEEE NSS-MIC Conference entitled Data Acquisition System Design for a 1 mm3 Resolution PSAPD-Based PET System that describes the data acquisition architecture he and his colleagues are developing for a new PET mammography system. Because of his strong presentation skills and the rating of his presentation abstract as the fourth highest, Mr. Olcott was one of two runners up for the two Best Student Paper Awards, which recognize contributions to the fields of nuclear and plasma sciences. Mr. Olcott graduated with a BS in computer science from the University of California, San Diego, in 2003. This fall 2007, he expects to receive his MS from Stanford in bioengineering and, subsequently, to begin the PhD bioengineering program. His current research interests include the development of an intra-operative hand-held gamma ray camera (nuclear imager) for the surgical staging of cancer; data acquisition systems for application specific (PET mammography) PET systems; and a new PET detector design for high-field simultaneous PET/MRI imaging. Mr. Olcott adds the following: "I have a 3-year-old son, and I spend all of my free time being a new parent. I love to play tennis, softball, and basketball, and members of Lucas/Radiology are quite welcome to send me unannounced requests to play these sports."

Guillem Pratx, MS, doctoral candidate in electrical engineering and member of the Molecular Imaging Instrumentation Laboratory, was also awarded a 2007 IEEE Medical Imaging Travel Grant to present his work at the 2007 IEEE NSS-MIC Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mr. Pratx completed his undergraduate work in engineering at the Ecole Centrale in Paris, France. In the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), he is completing his dissertation research, which centers on the development of practical algorithms that exploit graphics processing units (GPU) for fast medical image reconstruction in ultra-high resolution PET systems under development at Stanford. In support of his work, he has received several awards, including the NVIDIA Fellowship, the Society of Nuclear Medicine Bradley-Alavi Student Fellowship, and the Stanford Bio-X Graduate Student Fellowship.

A picture from the IEEE Luau, from left to right: Peter Olcott's son; Peter Olcott; Arne Vandenbroucke, PhD; Frances Lau, MS; James Matteson, PhD (Univ. of California, San Diego); Craig Levin, PhD; Guillem Pratx, MS; David Starfield, PhD candidate (Univ. of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg); Yi Gu; and Paul Reynolds.

Announcements III: December 17, 2007

Stanford Health Improvement Program: Register online for the winter quarter 2008 at http://hip.stanford.edu/classes/register.html beginning, Wednesday, December 5, 2007, for classes beginning on Monday, January 7, 2008. You can use your STAP funds to pay for some of the classes. For a full description of courses and registration information, please see the "Health Improvement Program Quarterly Class Schedule" at http://stanfordhealthimprovement.org/hip/pdfschedules/hipWinter2008.indd.pdf.

Classes include the following:

CPR and First Aid;

Weight Management/Nutrition: "Behavior Change/Weight Management Program," "Eating for the Long Run," "Low Carbon Diet 'Lose 5000 lbs in a Month!,'" "Stress Eating (& Other Non-Hunger Eating)," and "Weight Watchers at Work";

Ergonomic/Posture Health: "Biofeedback for Workstation Analysis," "Mechanics of Heart, Breast, & Lung Health," and "Sitting Comfortably";

Midlife Wellness Series: "Sounder Sleep," "Midlife Wellness for Women," "Better Memory for Better Performance," "Aging--Joyfully, Healthfully, Passionately, & Wisely," "Healthy Bones for Life," "Healthy Eating for the Long Run," and "Midlife Crisis/Opportunity";

Environmental Health: "Low Carbon Diet 'Lose 5000 lbs in a Month!'";

Exercise/Physical Activity: "Stepping Out with Stanford On-Line Class," and "Walk for Wellness";

Mind/Body Health: "Breathe to Relax & Release," "Create the Body Your Soul Desires," "Intuition for Productivity, Innovation, & Wellness," and "Reiki Healing";

Stress Management: "The Art of Living," "Drumming Up Health," "Love Yourself for Everyone Else's Sake," "Mindfulness-Based Stress Management,"and "Stress Eating (& Other Non-Hunger Eating)";

Special Health Issues: "Down the Rabbit Hole: A Workshop in Action Theatre Improvisation";

Individual Behavior Change Options: "Health Behavior Consultations," "Smoking Cessation," and "Wellness Coaching";

Cardio: "Cardio Step & Strength," "Cardio Dance & Core Strength Fusion, Carnival Cardio Fiesta, Cardio/Chi/Conditioning, Cross Training," "Fantastic Abs & Cardio," and "Tap Dance for Fitness";

Healthy Back/Core Strength: "Healthy Back Cardio & Core Strength," "Healthy Back Cardio & Core Strength on Stability Ball," "Healthy Back Core Strength," and "Healthy Back/Strong Abdominals";

Pilates: "Pilates Essentials," "Pilates for Core Strength," and "Dynamic Yoga/Pilates Challenge";

Mind/Body Fitness: "Chen Style Tai Chi Old Form," and "Chen Family Taijiquan & Qigong Tai Chi for Arthritis,"

Mulit-Cultural Dance for Fitness: "Middle Eastern Belly Dance";

Strength & Body Sculpt: "Body Firm/Super Sculpt," "Hard Core Abs Express," "H.A.A.B.I.T.," and "Pure Abs: Core Strength";

Walk for Wellness: "Stanford Sightseeing Striders," and "Walk for Wellness";

Weight Training: "Orientation to Weight Room Equipment," "Circuit Weight Training," "Versa Circuit Weight Training," and "Lifetime Fitness Weight Training";

Yoga for Health: "Dynamic Yoga/Pilates Challenge," "Mid-Day Yoga: Relax & Renew," "Morning Mindful Yoga: Creating Union of Mind & Spirit," "Power Yoga," and "Yoga for Workplace Wellness";

Water Exercise: "Lap Swimming";

"Living Strong, Living Well (LSLW)," "Stepping Out with Stanford," and "Senior Fitness."

A Notable 40th Anniversary

By Dr. Leslie M. Zatz

In "Chronic Lung Disease after Premature Birth" from The New England Journal of Medicine (2007 Nov. 8;357(19):1946-1955), Drs. Eugenio Baraldi and Marco Filippone begin their article as follows:

"In 1967, Northway et al. first described a new chronic respiratory disease, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, that developed in premature infants exposed to mechanical ventilation and oxygen supplementation. Two decades later, the same authors found that clinically significant respiratory symptoms and functional abnormalities persisted into adolescence and early adulthood in a cohort of survivors of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, suggesting that lung injuries early in life may have lifelong consequences. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is now the most common chronic lung disease of infancy in the United States."

For those of you who may not know, Northway is our Bill Northway who did this pioneering work as a junior faculty member in the new Stanford Hospital during the first eight years after it had moved to the campus from San Francisco. His laboratory was at the back end of the basement corridor of the Grant building where I think members of the Siemens group now have their offices. The studies in newborn animals were tedious and difficult, and the animals had to be tended to twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The newborns were exposed to various oxygen concentrations in plastic chambers built by our departmental shop. Henry Kaplan, MD, was chair of radiology, which consisted of the Divisions of Diagnosis, Radiation Therapy, Nuclear Medicine, Radiobiology, and Radiation Physics. Herb Abrams, MD, was chief of diagnosis until the summer of 1967 when he left to become the first tenured chair of radiology at Harvard, leaving me as acting chief for about six months until Frank Zboralske, MD, was hired.

Bill's remarkable work was truly landmark work by a diagnostic radiologist who saw a problem in the infants whose films he reported, took the problem to the laboratory, worked out the cause and the pathology with colleagues in Pathology, and established a new disease entity, which has held up with modification for 40 years. I can not think of a similar contribution by another diagnostic radiologist, but I may be biased by having known him since he was a resident. To read more about Dr. Northway's accomplishments, please see an earlier article on our blog at http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/06/during_his_firs.html. To access the NEJM article by Drs. Eugenio Baraldi and Marco Filippone, please see http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/357/19/1946.

Awards and Honors: December 10, 2007

Arne Vandenbroucke, PhD, postdoctoral scholar in the Molecular Imaging Instrumentation Laboratory (MIIL), was awarded an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Scholarship to attend a short course at the 2007 IEEE NSS-MIC (Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging) Conference. Dr. Vandenbroucke earned his PhD in experimental particle physics from Gent University in Belgium. Before coming to Stanford, he worked on the HERMES experiment, researching the spin structure of the nucleon at the DESY (Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron or the "German Electron Synchrotron") in Hamburg, Germany. As part of Dr. Levin's group at Stanford, his research interests include medical imaging, especially PET. Dr. Vandenbroucke is currently involved in the research and development of a dedicated high-resolution breast cancer imaging PET system. When he is not in the lab, he likes spending his time outdoors sailing, hiking, and traveling.

People and Their Pets: Zoe's Update

Zoe, who appeared earlier on our blog (http://radiology.stanford.edu/blog/archives/2007/07/zoe.html)

By Carol Estades

In September of 2007, we had to have both of Zoe's eyes removed. When my husband and I brought Zoe home from the vet that day we wanted to cry, but we didn't. We made sure that the loss of her vision was the only change that she had to endure. As a result, Zoe has adjusted to her loss of vision very quickly. She had only one accident in the house and that was the day after the removal of her eyes. She is a well-trained dog who has continued to be a responsible member of our family. She has all of the freedoms that she has always had. She sits and waits for her meals, comes when she is called, and knows where every member of the family is at all times.

Zoe still doesn't know when to stop playing. We have had to learn how to communicate with her in new and different ways. She was so active that we had to nail some of our furniture to the floor long before she had any vision problems. Now, it is nailed to the floor so nobody can move it into her pathway. She will trip you if she gets half a chance, and she plays bumper cars now and then when she forgets that she can't see. Zoe has always loved life and lives to play ball and tug-o-war. In the end, we spent more than $6,000.00 over the course of a year to end-up with the same loving, little dog with the only difference being that she can't see with her eyes.

Announcements II: December 7, 2007

East Palo Alto Police Station Annual Toy Drive: Wednesday, Dec. 5th, until Tuesday, December 18th, from noon until 5:00 PM in the donation boxes located in Terman Room 291 in the Terman Engineering Building at 380 Panama Mall. Diantha Stensrud, administrative associate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is collecting unwrapped toys, books, games, and stuffed toy animals for the East Palo Alto Police Department starting Wednesday, Dec. 5th, until Tuesday, December 18th, from noon until 5:00 PM. Your donations will be distributed by Santa Claus at the East Palo Alto Police Station during their annual children's toy distribution on December 24th. If you have any questions, please contact Diantha Stensrud at 723-4447 or diantha.stensrud@stanford.edu.

Announcements I: December 7, 2007

Staff Meeting: Wednesday, December 12th, from 1:15 PM to 2:30 PM in Munzer Auditorium (http://cmgm.stanford.edu/munzer/location.html) at the Beckman Center. Gary Davis, business operations analyst in the Stanford Controller's Office, will be speaking on "Managing Your Money and Oracle Reporting" at our staff meeting. Mr. Davis will be joined by a colleague from his office and two representatives from the Office of Sponsored Research for a question and answer (Q & A) session after the presentation. The presentation and Q & A session will be informative for beginning and advanced users and an opportunity for staff who have never used Oracle to learn about how our financial systems are structured. Please find the agenda for Mr. Davis' presentation below. If you have questions, please contact Yun-Ting Yeh, assistant director of finance and administration, at 724-5566 (ytyeh@stanford.edu) or Deitria Chapman, HR and VP associate, at 725-9065 (deitria@stanford.edu). Thank you.

"Managing Your Money and Oracle Reporting" Agenda
Welcome
--Review Agenda and Handouts
--Expectations

Highlights from
A Guide to Managing Your Money

What PTAs are involved?
--REF_229_PTA_Listing
--REF_228_Proj_Task_with_Award
--REF_225_Fund_Authorization

How much do I have left?
--FUND_154_YTD_Fund_Bal_List
--FUND_153_Fund_Statement

How much did I spend?
--EXP_285_Mo_Detail_Statement
--EXP_279_Transaction_Detail
--EXP_149_Qrtly_Exp_Cert

Resources
--Financial Gateway
--ORA website
--Financial Reports website

Questions and Answers

Awards and Honors: December 4, 2007

Gang Niu, PhD, postdoctoral scholar in the Molecular Imaging Probe Laboratory (MIPL), has been awarded the Department of Defense (DOD) Prostate Cancer Training Award through the DOD's Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP). PCRP Training Awards are designed to fund innovative, high-impact research by scientists whose achievements reflect their potential for successful training and who are committed to a career in prostate cancer research. Dr. Niu received the award for his original research in Hsp90 targeted imaging and therapy. He has been working at MIPL under the supervision of Dr. Xiaoyuan Chen since 2006 after receiving his PhD in free radical radiation biology at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, in 2005. His PhD research focused on molecular imaging and tumor gene therapy mediated by the human sodium iodide symporter (hNIS), investigating the role of hNIS as a reporter gene monitoring gene transfer and expression. His current research interests include the investigation of tumor initiation and the progress and response to various therapies with non-invasive molecular imaging strategies including optical and radiological modalities.

Awards and Honors: December 3, 2007

Juergen K. Willmann, MD, research fellow in the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), has received the 2007 RSNA Trainee Research Fellow Award for his research project, "Molecular Imaging of Therapeutic Angiogenesis in Murine Hindlimb Ischemia Using PET and 64Cu-labeled Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor121." This Award was created in 1994 by the RSNA Program Committee to recognize the contribution of investigators to the RSNA Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting. Dr. Willmann has been a research fellow in MIPS since 2006, and he is concurrently an assistant professor of diagnostic radiology at the Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. He received his MD from the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, Germany, and was the chief resident of diagnostic radiology at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. In 2005, Dr. Willmann received the "venia legendi" from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. His research interests include multi-modality molecular imaging of angiogenesis and stem cell therapy and the development of new imaging probes for the early detection of cancer.