Center for Research and Innovation in Abdominal Imaging
Center for Research and Innovation in Abdominal Imaging
55 Fruit Street, White Building, Room 270
Boston,
MA
02114
Phone: 617-643-2009
Email: mghcria@mgb.org
About This Program
Overview
The Center for Research and Innovation in Abdominal Imaging (CRIA) at MGH performs clinical and translational research with the use of top-of-the-line technology and decision support to advance healthcare practices and better patient care.
The Center operates within the Abdominal Imaging Division at MGH to consolidate the research performed by our renowned faculty members. Our expert investigators conduct research on a range of imaging modalities using the latest technologies, including Photon Counting CT, Dual-Energy CT, CT Perfusion, and PET-MRI. The research conducted at the Center seeks to answer a variety of clinical questions related to the different abdominal organs such as the kidneys, pancreas, liver and prostate. Oncological research also constitutes a large portion of the research performed at the Center. This includes investigating imaging biomarkers and advancements in screening, staging and response assessment techniques. In addition to leading research investigations, the center aims to foster and develop the next generation of researchers through the support and mentorship of our junior faculty, trainees and clinical and research fellows.
Group Members
Director
Advisory Board
Abdominal Imaging Faculty
- Mark Anderson, MD
- Michael Blake, MBBCH
- William Bradley, MD
- Onofrio Catalano, MD, PhD
- Ryan Chung, MD
- Ranjodh Dhami, MD
- Michael Gee, MD, PhD
- Reece Goiffon, MD, PhD
- Peter Hahn, MD, PhD
- Aoife Kilcoyne, MD, BAO
- Kasra Mojtahed, MD
- Theodore Pierce, MD
- David Rosman, MD, MBA
- Francis Scholz, MD
- Madeleine Sertic, MBBCH, BAO
- Anuradha Shenoy-Bhangle, MD
- Joseph Simeone, MD
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
Nayla Mroueh, MD
Email: nmroueh@mgh.harvard.edu
Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon
Graduate Education: MD from the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Current Projects & Research: Nayla conducts abdominal imaging research in several areas, with a special focus on Dual-Energy CT, deep learning-based image reconstruction and image quality assessments.
Jinjin Cao, MD
Email: jcao11@mgh.harvard.edu
Hometown: Anhui province, China
Graduate Education: MD from Anhui Medical University
Current Projects & Research: Jinjin conducts research on the imaging quality and diagnostic capability of the latest advancements in CT imaging.
Sasiprang Konboonvijit, MD (Fern)
Email: skongboonvijit@mgh.harvard.edu
Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
Graduate Education: MD, radiology residency and clinical fellowship in advanced body imaging at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
Current Projects & Research: Fern’s research focuses on investigating the image quality, diagnostic performance and lesion detectability of deep learning-based CT reconstruction in various organs and patient groups.
Nabih Nakrour, MD
Email: nnakrour1@mgh.harvard.edu
Hometown: Homs, Syria
Graduate Education: MD from Al-Baath University, Homs, Syria
Current Projects & Research: Nabih works on projects that revolve around the innovative use of abdominal MRI to implement new techniques in liver and kidney imaging to help clinicians and limit the patients’ burden from current methods of diagnosis. He also aims to investigate the use of artificial intelligence in MRI for prostate cancer detection and follow-up.
Felipe Furtado, MD
Email: ffurtado1@mgh.harvard.edu
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Graduate Education: MD from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Current Projects & Research: Felipe is a research fellow from the clinical positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging lab at MGH/Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, led by Dr. Onofrio Catalano. Felipe studies clinical applications of PET/MRI in cancer and inflammatory conditions, including the use of novel radiopharmaceuticals. He hopes to improve upon the current non-invasive diagnostic methods to evaluate these diseases using molecular imaging.
Álvaro Badenes Romero, MD
Email: abadenesromero@mgh.harvard.edu
Hometown: Castellón, Spain
Graduate Education: MD from CEU Cardenal Herrera and Nuclear medicine residency at Dr. Peset University Hospital, Valencia, Spain
Current Projects & Research: Álvaro uses molecular and magnetic resonance imaging including advanced technology with PET/MRI in diseases related to abdominal pathologies, primarily oncological. His aim is to investigate the diagnostic performance of PET/MRI compared with standard imaging.
Mina Hesami, MD
Email: mhesami@mgh.harvard.edu
Hometown: Qeshm Island, Iran
Graduate Education: MD from Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Iran
Current Projects & Research: Mina currently works on technical and methodological improvements of whole-body PET/MR. The primary outcome of her research is to improve the quality of MR and PET images, patient comfort, and shorten acquisition time. She also works on the retrospective correlation of PET/MR with clinical features in oncology patients. In this project, she investigates if the staging performance achieved by combining information from PET and MR is more accurate than the staging performance achieved by PET alone, MR alone, CT, PET/CT, US in patients affected by solid organ neoplasms, especially of the abdomen.
Research Staff
Lauren Glupe – Research intern
Email: lglupe@meei.harvard.edu
Hometown: Huntington, NY
Graduate Education: Expected graduate in 2023 with a BS from Northeastern University
Current Projects & Research: Lauren is a college student working with CaNCURE, a program focused on advancing cancer and nanomedicine research. She is investigating the use of ferumoxytol, an iron oxide nanoparticle, as a contrast agent in MR imaging. She will be determining its efficacy for the detection of pancreatic and hepatic masses when compared with more traditional gadolinium-based contrast agents.