The Spielman Laboratory

Our primary interests are in the field of in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) and the development of novel noninvasive methods for imaging metabolism within the body. Current projects include 13C MRS of hyperpolarized substrates for the assessment of glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, and other key metabolic pathways, optimized mapping of 1H metabolite distributions throughout the body, and quantifying neurotransmitter levels and cycling rates in the brain. In our laboratory, we have focussed on a novel array of both acquisition and analysis techniques for use in preclinical and clinical studies. These developments, which include improved spectroscopic imaging and shimming methods, multinuclear NMR studies, application of estimation theory for optimal data quantification, and the synthesis of new hyperpolarizeable 13C probes, address the inherent difficulties of low concentrations of the desired components, overlapping resonances, and magnetic field inhomogeneities caused by imperfect magnets and magnetic susceptibility variations within the body.

We study novel MR methods for in vivo imaging of metabolism.

Primary applications of this work include cancer diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and prediction of response to therapy, assessment of cardiac function, improved understanding and treatment of metabolic diseases (e.g. diabetes, NASH, liver failure) and neurologic disorders including Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, and autism. The reseach addresses a broad spectrum of in vivo magnetic resonance problems, ranging from solid-state physics, MRI relaxation theory and contrast mechanisms, and spectroscopy to metabolic imaging in animal models and human subjects. The focus is on the development of new methods and the translation of these techniques to clinical practice.

The lab is led by Daniel Spielman, PhD, who is member of the Radiological Sciences LabDepartments of Radiology and Electrical Engineering (courtesy), School of Medicine, at Stanford University.  Students in lab are primarily from the departments of Electrical EngineeringBioengineering, and Biophysics.  Past trainees have also come from the Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Recent Publications

Hyperpolarized 13C NMR observation of lactate kinetics in skeletal muscle. Jae Mo Park, Sonal Josan, Dirk Mayer, Ralph Hurd, Youngran Chung, David Brendahan, Daniel Spielman, and Thomas Jue, Journal of Experimental Biology, in press.

Volumetric spiral chemical shift imaging of hyperpolarized 13C pyruvate in a rat c6 glioma model. Park JM, Josan S, Jang T, Merchant M, Watkins R, Hurd RE, Recht LD, Mayer D, Spielman DM. Magn Reson Med. 2015 May 6. doi: 10.1002/mrm.25766. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 25946547

Multivendor implementation and comparison of volumetric whole-brain echo-planar MR spectroscopic imaging. Sabati M, Sheriff S, Gu M, Wei J, Zhu H, Barker PB, Spielman DM, Alger JR, Maudsley AA. Magn Reson Med. 2014 Oct 29. doi: 10.1002/mrm.25510. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 25354190

The feasibility of assessing branched-chain amino acid metabolism in cellular models of prostate cancer with hyperpolarized [1-13C]-ketoisocaproate. Billingsley KL, Park JM, Josan S, Hurd R, Mayer D, Spielman-Sun E, Nishimura DG, Brooks JD, Spielman D. Magn Reson Imaging. 2014 Sep;32(7):791-5. doi: 10.1016/j.mri.2014.04.015. Epub 2014 Apr 28. PMID: 24907854

Hyperpolarized [1,4-13C]-diethylsuccinate: a potential DNP substrate for in vivo metabolic imaging. Billingsley KL, Josan S, Park JM, Tee SS, Spielman-Sun E, Hurd R, Mayer D, Spielman D. NMR Biomed. 2014 Mar;27(3):356-62. doi: 10.1002/nbm.3071. Epub 2014 Jan 13. PMID: 24421249

News and Events

October 2020 - Professors Frank Hanley and Daniel Spielman received an NIH grant R01HL152757 "Neurometabolic Outcomes of Different Cardiopulmonary Bypass Strategies”.

September 2020 - Spielman Laboratory alum Jae Mo Park, Assistant Professor at University of Texas Southwestern, received his first NIH R01 award NIH (R01NS107409, “Pyruvate and Acetate Metabolism after TBI: Implications for Cerebral Energy Metabolism”) to study traumatic brain injury using hyperpolarized 13C MRSI.

August 2020 - Professors Daniel Spielman and Larry Recht received an NIH grant R01CA245097 "Imaging Biomarkers for Glioma Treatment Response”.

April 2017 - Daniel Spielman elected Fellow of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

August 2015 - Prof. Daniel Spielman awarded new NIH R01 grant for measuring brain metabolism using hyperpolarized 13C MRSI.

May 2015 - Multiple ISMRM awards received by lab members.

May 2015 - Jae Mo Park, Valentina Taviani, and Sunitha Bachawai successfully acquired the first simultaneous in vivo PET and hyperpolarized 13C MRS study of a prostate cancer model using GE Healthcare's new 3T PET/MR system.

April 2015 - Delivery and installation at the Stanford Lucas Center of the GE Spinlab dynamic nuclear polarizer.

All Spielman Lab news/events

RSL locations

The Richard M. Lucas Center for Medical Imaging

1201 Welch Rd, Stanford CA 94305-5488

Stanford School of Medicine Technology & Innovation Park

3155 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304