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Key Documents

Lasitha Senadheera

Contact Information

  • Academic Offices
    Personal Information
    Email lasithas@stanford.edu Tel (650) 736-0619
    Administrative Contact
    Lasitha Senadheera Postdoctoral Fellow Tel Work 650-736-0619

Honors and Awards

  • Prostate Cancer Research Program Training Award, Department of Defense (2010/2011)

Professional Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Washington University (2008)
  • MA, Washington University Physics (2005)
  • BSc, University of Colombo Physics (2002)

Faculty Advisor

Research Interests

My research focus at Stanford is to characterize radiation-induced tissue damage using an emerging metabolic imaging technique called hyperpolarized C-13 MRSI. In hyperpolarization, microwave irradiation is used to transfer abundant electronic spin polarization of radicals, usually doped with the sample, to nuclear polarization which significantly enhances low sensitivity of C-13 nuclei. This imaging technique has been successfully applied to detect tumors and to monitor therapeutic responses. The key biochemical reaction that allows making use of this technique is aerobic glycolysis in tumors; elevated production of lactate from pyruvate in the presence of oxygen. By injecting hyperpolarized C-13 labeled pyruvate, one can, therefore, measure metabolic activities of pyruvate and its endogenous products, lactate and alanine, to assess therapeutic response in vivo. My initial aim is to explore possibility of detecting metabolic response associated with radiation-induced tissue alterations by C-13 MRSI. Change of metabolic activities, including apparent reduction of lactate production, is expected as a result of cell-death due to radiation. This method may potentially be translated to clinical applications in which radiation damage can be assessed in vivo to guide treatment planning and the dose delivery.

Publications