Congratulations to Moss Zhao, DPhil, on receiving the prestigious Second Century Early Faculty Independence Award from the American Heart Association. This award is given to investigators in the early years of their first professional medical/research academic appointment. With this grant, Dr. Zhao and his team will focus on developing advanced imaging technologies to improve pre-surgical triage and post-surgical evaluation for patients with cerebrovascular and neurological disorders. He would like to thank his mentor Dr. Gary Steinberg for the support and mentorship.

Dr. Zhao is an Instructor affiliated with the Steinberg Lab. He develops cutting-edge and clinically viable imaging technologies to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular diseases across the lifespan. His specific areas of expertise include physiological modeling, arterial spin labeling, Bayesian inference, PET/MRI, and artificial intelligence. His scientific contributions could significantly improve the early detection of strokes and dementia as well as enrich the knowledge of brain development in the first two decades of life.

The Steinberg laboratory investigates the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia, develops neuroprotective agents, and employs novel approaches such as stem cell transplantation and optogenetic stimulation to enhance post-stroke functional recovery. The clinical research investigates innovative surgical, endovascular and radiosurgical approaches for treating patients with difficult intracranial aneurysms, complex vascular malformations and occlusive cerebrovascular disease, including Moyamoya.