Did You Know?
To read more, please access our Annual Update 2009/2010.
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Did You Know?
Gang (Tiger) Ren, MD, PhD, postdoctoral scholar in the Cancer Molecular Imaging Chemistry Laboratory (CMICL), has a recent research publication featured on MDLinx.com: "Melanin-Targeted Preclinical PET Imaging of Melanoma Metastasis" (J Nucl Med. 2009 Oct;50(10):1692-9. Epub 2009 Sep. 16).
Dr. Ren received his medical training from the Tongji University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China, and a PhD in advanced radiological sciences from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Working primarily with Professor Zhen Cheng in the Cancer Molecular Imaging Chemistry Lab, he brings his expertise in small animal imaging using microSPECT and microPET to the In Vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Center at Stanford (ICMIC) Program. Dr. Ren's research centers on the development of different molecular probes, including both small molecules and peptides, to target specific tumor biomarkers such as the MC1R receptor; melanin contents in malignant melanoma; and HER2/EGFR in breast cancer. He has already successfully demonstrated the potential of the molecular probes ReCCMSH, Benzamide Analogs, and Affibody molecules in preclinical animal models using microPET. He continues to work on the development of new probes as well as a novel image-guided theragnostic scheme for the management of breast cancer and lung cancer.
During National Radiologic Technology Week (NRTW), an annual recognition established by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT), we celebrate the great advances in radiologic technologies that have been made since the discovery of the X-ray on November 8, 1895.
The week of November 8-14th, we proudly celebrate all employees of Stanford's world-renowned Department of Radiology for continually providing outstanding care. Offering the best diagnostic imaging services and expertise while utilizing state-of-the-art technology, this Department never fails to demonstrate extraordinary teamwork by all its dedicated medical professionals. For more than one-hundred years, Stanford Radiology has made a difference in the lives of patients and their families, while continuing to . . .
]]> make important contributions to medical and surgical advances. This hardworking Department, in this ever-growing Stanford community, continues to lead imaging-based research, patient care, and education. This year in particular, the Stanford Radiology Department has pioneered transformations in several areas. These significant advances, along with our teamwork and excellence in patient care, make our Department unique among radiologic service providers and serve as an inspiration to our patients.Furthering our clinical imaging enterprise, we unveiled two new outpatient centers this year: Stanford Medicine Imaging Center in Palo Alto and Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center in Redwood City. Focused on patient comfort, both of our Centers have been designed to ease the tensions associated with health problems through innovative approaches to reduce anxiety such as promoting a calming environment; utilizing beautiful architecture; and employing a patient-centric approach to healthcare delivery. With the added imaging capacity of both Centers, we have accelerated our delivery of outpatient care, while providing imaging services with the most advanced technology available. By constantly innovating, we have placed ourselves in a continual state of technological advancement.
Additionally, we have completely rebuilt our Nuclear Medicine Clinic on the 2nd floor of Stanford Hospital and Clinics (SHC). After years of planning, the anticipated opening of the Clinic is July 2010. In addition to two new state-of-the-art PET/CT 64 slice systems, the design also includes a Radiochemistry Lab and a Health Physics Workshop. The work flow of patients will dramatically improve with the centrally located design and features.
Stanford Radiology Imaging Services by Location:
Blake Wilbur
Stanford Medicine Imaging Center, Palo Alto
Stanford Hospital and Clinics
Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center, Redwood City
State-of-the-art CT scans taken by Dr. Rebecca Fahrig are featured in the exhibit "Very Postmortem: Mummies and Medicine" at the Legion of Honor, one of the Fine Arts Museums in San Francisco. Her scans were used in constructing a three-dimensional "fly through" movie of the anatomy of the 2,500-year-old mummy of the Egyptian Priest Iret-net Hor-irw. Chris Beaulieu, MD, PhD, chief of musculoskeletal imaging in the Department of Radiology, also lent his expertise in determining the anatomy of the mummy's musculoskeletal structure.
According to a recent article in Stanford Medicine News, "Stanford Scans of Mummy to be Featured in San Francisco Museum Exhibition," visitors will
be able to watch "visual navigations through the mummy’s anatomy, zooming in to inspect what remains of his internal organ systems and then swooping back out through the wrappings. It’s even possible to see objects, such as small amulets, buried with the mummy and hidden from view since its burial." ]]>
Dr. William Kuo was recently featured in a Stanford Medicine News article and national press release entitled "Study Reveals Life-Saving Treatment for Pulmonary Embolism." Dr. Kuo discussed the results from his study published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (20(11):1431-1440). Analyzing global data regarding the use of catheter-directed therapy for massive PE, he and his colleagues discovered that the therapy was life-saving in 86.5% of the 594 cases they studied. Dr. Kuo published his findings along with co-authors Lawrence Hofmann, MD, associate professor and chief of cardiovascular-interventional radiology; Daniel Sze, MD, associate professor of radiology; John Louie, MD, assistant professor of radiology; Jarrett Rosenberg, PhD, statistician; and Michael Gould, MD, associate professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine. The full Stanford press release can be accessed here: http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2009/october/embolism.html.]]>
MIPS
After meeting on the beach for lunch on Tuesday, MIPS retreat attendees began an extensive photo treasure hunt, which lasted until the following day. Participants were required to take photos that were humorous, creative, and appropriate as well as that included the most number of strangers and team members as possible in the picture. Please see the winning photos below.
Opening remarks were delivered by Sam Gambhir, MD, PhD, the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Radiology and Bioengineering followed by "MIPS Faculty Words of Wisdom" given by Drs. Craig Levin, Michael Lin, Michael Moseley, David Paik, Brian Rutt, and Michael McConnell. Based on each speaker's personal experiences, these 10 minute talks addressed topics such as the work-life balance and how to succeed on the job. The retreat also included Breakout Sessions with 11 different groups, which discussed topics including mentorship, social networking, space issues, and professional growth. Other highlights included remarks by Keynote Speaker Steve Haddock, PhD, a marine biologist studying bioluminescence and zooplankton at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute who spoke about bioluminescence in marine life. Through videos, he demonstrated how marine life use their natural bioluminescence in the deep sea to avoid predators and attract prey.
MIPS/RSL/ISIS
On Wednesday, all three groups overlapped and shared in several retreat activities followed by a bonfire, karaoke/music jam, and jeopardy game, with categories specific to Stanford Radiology. There was also an RSL/ISIS photo contest in which participants submitted photos in three categories: special effects with no manipulation; unusual; and nature. The three winners' photos are included below. Retreat attendees participated in "Pie in the Sky" presentations, sharing their ideas regarding the future challenges, solutions, and directions of Radiology, as well as in "Elevator Pitches," 60 second talks explaining their research. Highlights included the State of the Department presentation by Dr. Gary M. Glazer, chair of Stanford Radiology and Emma Pfeiffer Merner Professor in the Medical Sciences.
RSL/ISIS
On Thursday, Keynote Speaker Fei-Fei Li, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, gave a talk entitled "Telling Stories of the Visual World: Perception and Computation" in which she described some goals of her research such as understanding human visual intelligence by applying computational tools as well as building intelligent visual algorithms for machines and robots. Other retreat events included a presentation by Dr. Shreyas Vasanawala, assistant professor of radiology, entitled, "A Day in the Life of a Radiologist" and workshops by Dr. Brian Hargreaves, assistant professor of radiology (research), "Making Meetings Effective"; Drs. Gary Glover, professor of radiology, and Kim Butts Pauly, professor (research) of radiology, "How to Write and Read a Recommendation Letter"; and Drs. Rebecca Fahrig, associate professor (research) of radiology; Kim Butts Pauly; and Norbert Pelc, professor of radiology and bioengineering, "Finding a Work/Life Balance."
The retreat ended with the judging of the RSL/ISIS photo contest (please see winning photos below); and a tour of the Stanford Hopkins Marine Laboratory.
WINNING MIPS PHOTOS
WINNING RSL/ISIS PHOTOS
"Nature" Category Winner (Wendy Baumgardner, RVT, LATg)
"Special Effects" Category Winner (Norbert Pelc, ScD)
"Unnatural" Category Winner (Wendy Baumgardner, RVT, LATg)
For prior blog retreat articles, please access the following:
Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS) Retreat 2008 ; Radiological Sciences Laboratory (RSL) Retreat 2008; 2007 MIPS Retreat ; 2007 RSL Retreat; and 2007 RSL Post-Retreat Update .
“I was hoping my scar would be bigger,” remarked one of our pediatric patients with some disappointment as she undid her bandage. Several days earlier her bone tumor had been successfully treated through a CT-image guided ablation procedure at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH).
To treat children with bone tumors, our Chief of Pediatric Musculoskeletal Imaging at LPCH, Dr. John MacKenzie, has teamed up with Drs. Larry Rinsky, James Gamble, and Meghan Imrie, pediatric orthopedics at LPCH. Because CT-guided RF ablations for osteoid osteoma tumors require a very small incision and leave virtually no scar, other parents have also
These are just a few of the many success stories from the Pediatric Musculoskeletal Interventional Program at LPCH, which is helping to expand the minimally invasive options for our smallest patients. Dr. MacKenzie says he enjoys the interventional part of his work at LPCH because it gives him a chance to work directly with the patients, "Often the role of the pediatric radiologist is as the doctor's doctor, seeing the patient for the most part by how they look on the imaging study." But he says the interventional component of his work is very rewarding because he gets a chance to do something that may help while meeting the kids and family at the same time.
Along with the pediatric orthopedists, Dr. MacKenzie has also teamed up with rheumatologists and oncologists at LPCH in order to offer other image-guided diagnostic and treatment procedures to children, such as bone and soft tissue biopsies, joint aspirations, and diagnostic and therapeutic joint arthrograms.
Prior to the Pediatric Musculoskeletal Interventional Program, children were treated with a larger incision or transferred to the adult hospital. The smaller body parts of pediatric patients present a particular challenge for successful image-guided procedures, but the Program is adapting smaller tools made to fit children as well as special techniques to minimize the CT dose delivered to radiosensitive tissues.
These image-guided therapies help shorten the recovery time, reduce pain, and increase the chance for recovery. Since the Program began two years ago, they have treated over 60 children for various minimally invasive procedures with excellent response. Imaging guidance includes fluoroscopy, CT, and ultrasound and the approach varies depending on what imaging strategy works best for an individual child.
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Sanjiv "Sam" Gambhir, MD, PhD, professor of radiology and bioengineering, was appointed the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Endowed Professorship in Cancer Research in June of 2009. At Stanford, he leads several large NCI-funded programs and serves as chief of the Nuclear Medicine Division; director of the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS); and head of the new Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection. To read more about his selection for this endowed professorship, please access Stanford University news at http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/june17/med-endow-061709.html.Dr. Glazer published his study along with co-author, Sanjiv "Sam" Gambhir, MD, PhD, Virginia & D.K. Ludwig Professor of Radiology & Bioengineering; chief of the Nuclear Medicine Division; and director of the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), as well as first author Aloma D'Souza, PhD, research scientist and member of the Multimodality Molecular Imaging Lab. Other co-authors include Kim Butts Pauly, PhD, professor of radiology; Samira Guccione, PhD, assistant professor of radiology; and staff scientists Jeffrey Tseng, MD (now at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in California) and Jarrett Rosenberg, PhD, of the radiology department.
Kim Ko joined our Department on August 24, 2009, as our new human resources administrator. Born and raised in O'ahu, Hawai'i, Ms. Ko moved to California a few months ago. "I knew I always wanted to move to the Bay Area," she said. "So, I was really excited when this opportunity to work at Stanford came up. There are certain comforts of home that I miss, of course, like my family and friends, but I'm really excited to begin this new chapter in my life."
Dr. Gary M. Glazer has been named the 2009 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Gold Medalist, which is the Society’s highest honor. As an RSNA Gold Medalist, Dr. Glazer is a member of a very select group of individuals who have deeply impacted radiology and the imaging sciences. At the forefront of research in cancer staging breakthroughs, he has profoundly influenced the science of using cross-sectional imaging in lung cancer staging and noninvasive tissue characterization of liver and adrenal tumors. His most recent investigations are in noninvasive cancer therapy monitoring and image-guided tumor insonification.
During his twenty years as chair of Stanford Radiology, Dr. Glazer has repeatedly led the Department in generating noteworthy advances in the field. Under his leadership, the Department has established four NIH Centers and has created the Richard M. Lucas Center for Imaging, which serves as a unique international resource. As a second generation radiologist, Dr. Glazer is also devoted to developing patient-centered radiology by optimizing the communication between the radiologist and the patient to improve the quality of healthcare.
Gary M. Glazer, MD, Emma Pfeiffer Merner Professor in the Medical Sciences, will receive the Gold Medal during a special awards ceremony in December at the 2009 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Annual Meeting in Chicago. To read more about his award, please access the following links: SUMC in the News and RSNA Gold Medal Announcements.
2009 RSNA Outstanding Researcher
In addition to Dr. Glazer’s award, Sam Gambhir, MD, PhD, has been chosen as the 2009 Outstanding Researcher by the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) for his unique contributions to the field of radiology. A world-renowned leader in the field, Dr. Gambhir is transforming the imaging sciences and patient treatment through his expertise and leadership in cellular and molecular imaging. He is the second scientist from our Department to be honored with this award in the past 8 years; Dr. Gary Glover won this honor in 2001. This award is given to only one physician and/or scientist each year, and only 15 such awards have ever been given out by the RSNA.
Dr. Gambhir has over 20 years of experience in molecular imaging in both animal models and patients. At Stanford, he serves as chief of the Nuclear Medicine Division; director of the Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS); and head of the new Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection. He also leads several large NCI-funded programs, such as the In Vivo Cellular Molecular Imaging Center (ICMIC); the Center for Nanotechnology Excellence Focused on Therapy Response (CCNE-TR); and the Stanford Molecular Imaging Scholars (SMIS) Program. Currently, he is advancing "the merger of in vitro and in vivo diagnostics using novel nanotechnology for earlier disease detection and individualized patient management" (from Inside Stanford Medicine).
Sam Gambhir, MD, PhD, the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Radiology and Bioengineering, will receive his award at the opening session of the 2009 RSNA Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting. For Dr. Gambhir’s RSNA Award announcement, please access the following URLs:
http://www.rsna.org/Foundation/OutstandingResearcherAward.cfm as well as "Inside Stanford" at http://med.stanford.edu/ism/people/index.html#gambhir.
2009 RSNA Trainee Award Winners
Stanford Radiology Residents Bao Do, MD, and Pejman Ghanouni, MD, PhD,
have also been honored with 2009 RSNA Trainee Awards for their outstanding research projects.
Dr. Do (on left) 
developed his project, "A Natural Language Processor to Detect Uncertainty and Recommendations in Radiology Reports," under the mentorship of Dr. Daniel Rubin, assistant professor of radiology (diagnostic), while Dr. Ghanouni (on right) pursued his research, "Minocycline Prevents Development of Neuropathic Pain by Mitigating Macrophage Recruitment to Site of Nerve Injury as Shown with USPIO-MRI," mentored by Dr. Sandip Biswal, assistant professor of radiology (musculoskeletal).
Kim Butts Pauly, PhD, associate professor of radiology and of Bioengineering (by courtesy), was recently elected to the board of the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU) for a period of three years. The ISTU is a non-profit organization "founded in 2001 to increase and diffuse knowledge of therapeutic ultrasound to the scientific and medical community, and to facilitate the translation of therapeutic ultrasound techniques into the clinical arena for the benefit of patients worldwide." Dr. Butts Pauly's current research interests are focused on image-guided minimally invasive therapies, including MR-guided high intensity focused ultrasound and MR-guided cryoablation. She has published her work in over 75 peer-reviewed publications. When Dr. Butts Pauly is not working, she enjoys gardening, traveling with her family, and reading with her kids.
Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (cardiology) and radiology, was one of four Stanford scientists to receive a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Transformative R01 Award designed to "support exceptionally innovative, high risk, original and/or unconventional research projects that have the potential to create or overturn fundamental paradigms."
According to a recent Office of Communication & Public Affairs article, Dr. Wu's award will support his research regarding "ways to keep the body from rejecting human embryonic stem cells. For many years, researchers assumed that these undifferentiated building blocks would be ignored by the body's defense system. Wu's recent research in mice shows that this is not the case. 'It's getting harder and harder to believe that these cells are immunoprivileged,' said Wu. 'Now we need to know what to do about it.'" He will use his award to devise ways to "coax the immune system to tolerate the foreign cells, allowing them to regenerate or heal damaged tissues" (from "Stanford Nabs 13 Top NIH Awards for High-Stakes Research" by Krista Conger, Erin Digitale, Bruce Goldman, David Orenstein, Ruthann Richter, and Tracie White; download PDF at Stanford Nabs 13 Top NIH Awards for High-Stakes Research.pdf). To learn more about Dr. Wu's research, please access the Cardiovascular Gene and Cell Therapy Lab website at http://mips.stanford.edu/research/lab?lab%5fid=2883.
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