Research

Research

Throughout its history, the Stanford Department of Radiology has worked continuously to develop the infrastructure necessary to expand interdisciplinary research efforts in anatomic imaging, instrumentation development, molecular imaging, nanotechnology, information sciences, systems biology, and interventional therapeutic advances. Coupling this rich biomedical imaging foundation with an energetic, forward thinking, and creative faculty and staff, we are able to introduce leading-edge imaging solutions and technology to other research communities and into clinical practice.

Our Department is made up of five primary research divisions with each providing specific areas of focus but all collaborating in a highly interdisciplinary environment. These five Divisions (with year established) are:

Stanford Radiology has been among the top ten NIH-funded radiology departments each year since 2005. Please visit the Academy of Radiology Research for a complete list of NIH funding to radiology departments nationwide.

Our excellent team, including faculty, staff, and trainees, excels at maintaining Stanford Radiology as a strong academic leader with recognized excellence in clinical and basic research. For details of NIH funding, please search NIH RePORTER for Stanford University Radiology.

Research Divisions

ISNFR

Imaging Support for Non-Funded Research application and website

 

 

Research Cores & Centers

3D and Quantitative (3DQ) Imaging

Through interdisciplinary collaboration, Stanford Radiology's 3DQ Imaging Lab develops and applies innovative techniques for the efficient quantitative analysis and display of medical imaging data used in training, research, and the delivery of patient care.

Biostatistics

Stanford's Health Research and Policy, Division of Biostatistics, is involved in the research activities of every clinical division in the School of Medicine, many basic science departments, as well as national efforts. The Biostatistics Division expects to be an integral part of the growth of biomedical science in the near and long term.

Cell/Molecular Biology

Part of the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, the Cell/Molecular Biology Core facilitates the development of tools for early diagnosis of cancers. Well equipped, the Core develops and characterizes antibody and ligand-based probes for targeted molecular imaging, thus supporting the development of highly sensitive multifunctional optical, PET and MRI probes for imaging cancers by targeting cancer-specific cellular targets.

Chemistry

One of the basic Research Cores at the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, the Chemistry Core offers instrumentation capability for synthesis, analysis, and characterization of both small and large biologically significant molecules. The Core's chemists design and develop novel molecular agents for both in vivo and in vitro early detection of cancer. Molecular imaging agents in development include optical, photoacoustic, and multimodality probes, as well as agents for non-imaging strategies such as blood biomarker sensors.

Computational Modeling

Stanford Radiology's Integrative Biomedical Imaging Informatics at Stanford (IBIIS) offers critical computational modeling capabilities. This Core is developing the capability to collect annotated imaging, clinical and molecular data, and integrate them by creating databases that encode the relationships among them. These pioneering methods are improving the diagnostic and treatment planning value of images and leading the way to personalized, less-invasive approaches to early detection and treatment, while also improving our understanding of human biology and disease.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

The Richard M. Lucas Center for Imaging houses facilities for MR imaging at multiple fields and for magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Stanford Radiology's MR group also maintains and operates a 7T small bore system in the small animal imaging lab (SCI3). Members of the Radiological Sciences Lab (RSL) have pioneered MRI/MRS technology while developing new techniques that benefit patients with stroke, cancer, heart disease, and brain disorders. MRI research conducted at the Lucas Center includes collaborative and original research using human subjects and also intact animal models.

Medical Mixed Reality

The goal of medical mixed reality is to improve patient care by projecting patient data (images, measurements, interventional plans) directly onto the patient's body. This technology enables physicians to look inside the patient to see anatomy, function and disease in its actual location, thereby improving diagnosis, disease assessment, treatment planning and procedure guidance. At IMMERS, we aim to bring together researchers and physicians across Stanford and work with industry partners to envision, enable, and enact solutions to real challenges in healthcare. Furthermore, we work to link numerous AR and virtual reality (VR) groups across campus for efficient collaboration.

Proteomics

The Proteomics Core Facility in the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection is a state-of-the-art mass spectrometry resource dedicated to the discovery and verification of blood-based protein biomarkers. This Core is developing and implementing a high throughput biomarker verification platform that exploits magnetic nanoparticle-facilitated immunoaffinity capture as a prelude to mass spectrometric biomarker quantification.

Radiochemistry and Cyclotron

The Radiochemistry Facility and Cyclotron are located on the first floor of the Lucas Expansion building. The cyclotron produces radioisotopes for both clinical and research use and is surrounded by an FDG production lab and research hot labs. Used for production of research radiopharmaceuticals that support clinical and PET studies at the Stanford University Medical Center and the SCI3, these hot labs also house radiochemistry research for the development of new radiopharmaceuticals.


In-Vivo Imaging

Housed in the Clark Building, the Stanford Center for Innovation in In-Vivo Imaging (SCI3) applies and advances technologies for in-vivo biological assessment and imaging in animal models. The lab's instrumentation supports the development of reagents and approaches that reveal in-vivo changes at the molecular and cellular levels to gain a greater understanding from animal models. The SCI3 lab provides a test bed for evaluating human imaging reagents and strategies building upon the enrichment of data sets, as well as the flexibility and rapid analyses garnered from animal models.

Grants