Cardiovascular & Thoracic Imaging

The cardiovascular and thoracic imaging team is driven by the aim to provide new insights into the structure and function of neurovascular and cardiovascular diseases, as well as to improve diagnosis and therapy planning by developing novel and innovative imaging techniques using MR and CT.

Bradley Allen, MD, MS

Chief of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Imaging in the Department of Radiology

Assistant Professor of Radiology (Cardiovascular and Thoracic Imaging)

Bio

My research and clinical interests include medical imaging, cardiovascular disease diagnosis and treatment, lung cancer, fluid mechanics, and computer science. As a cardiothoracic radiologist, I am interested in applying advanced imaging techniques, primarily cardiovascular and pulmonary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in diseases, cohorts, and clinical scenarios where these techniques have not been previously applied. For further details and images, visit the Northwestern CVMRI Group page.

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.

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Ulas Bagci, PhD

Associate Professor of Radiology (Basic and Translational Radiology Research)

Bio

Dr. Ulas Bagci is the director of The Machine & Hybrid Intelligence Lab, and an Associate Professor (with tenure) in the Department of Radiology in the Feinberg School of Medicine, and theDepartment of ECE and Biomedical Engineering, at Northwestern. Dr. Bagci has a broad background in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning with specific training in biomedical imaging in internationally renowned research centers.

Dr. Bagci has more than 400 peer-reviewed articles, and holds several NIH grants (R01, U01, P50, R21 and others). Dr. Bagci is an investigator at the Lurie Cancer Center, an external member of NIH's prestigious Artificial Intelligence Resource, and he serves as an associate editor for top-tier AI in Medical Imaging journals such as IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging and Elsevier Medical Image Analysis. Dr. Bagci teaches a Medical AI course, and he supervises clinical fellows, postdoc researchers, master's and PhD students, and undergraduate students, as well as high school students.

Dr. Bagci's AI Lab has several high-impact research projects, most of them are funded by NIH. Some of the research topics are as follows:

Hybrid Intelligence: Human in the loop and Eye Tracking
AI in Pancreatic Diseases (Cancer, Cysts, Diabetes, and Pancreatitis)
AI in Liver Health (HCC and Cirrhosis, Interventional Therapy)
AI for Thoracic Applications (Lung Cancer, PASC Fibrosis, etc).
HITPIRADS: AI for Prostate Cancer Management
FIDELIS: AI for Radiation Oncology Applications
Federated Learning for Healthcare Applications
Explainable/Interpretable AI for High Risk Applications
AI for Cardiology Applications

For further details on The Machine and Hybrid Intelligence Lab, visit www.bagcilab.com

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.

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Mohammed Elbaz, PhD

Assistant Professor of Radiology (Basic and Translational Radiology Research)

Bio

My expertise intersects between computer science, medical imaging and applied fluid dynamics. I have 12+ years of experience in medical image analysis research and development in both academia and industry. Recently, I have been focusing my research on cardiovascular hemodynamics, where I employ my technical background in medical image analysis, cardiovascular 4D flow MRI and fluid dynamics to develop methods to improve diagnosis and treatment of heart disease using the state-of-the-art 4D Flow MRI technology. In particular,I have developed methods to utilize 4D Flow MRI for advanced visualization and quantification of 3D time-resolved intra-cardiac blood flow patterns and energetics. For further details, visit my lab's website or the Northwestern CVMRI Group page.

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.

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Laleh Golestani Rad, PhD

Assistant Professor of McCormick School of Engineering, Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences and Radiology (Basic and Translational Radiology Research)

Bio

I am an engineer and scientist with expertise in the application of computational electromagnetic techniques for the safety assessment of medical imaging and therapeutic devices. My work currently focuses on application of computational modeling to guide hardware design, safety assessments, and the optimization of imaging protocols for MRI scans in patients with conductive implants.

For more information on my research, please view my McCormick School of Engineering or my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profiles.

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KyungPyo Hong, PhD

Dr. KyungPyo Hong, Research Assistant Professor, Radiology

Research Assistant Professor of Radiology

Bio

My areas of research are Aging, Arrhythmia, Cardiovascular diseases, Cardiovascular imaging, Clinical research, Heart disease, Heart failure, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), Quantitative MRI, Radiology, X-ray, CAT scan, Medical imaging.

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.

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Kelly Jarvis, PhD

Research Assistant Professor of Radiology

Bio

I am an imaging scientist specializing in the development of workflows for blood flow analysis, including hemodynamic parameter mapping and vessel stiffness assessment using pulse wave velocity. My research focuses on understanding heart-brain connections, aiming to help inform treatment and prevention strategies for age-related diseases, particularly in cardiovascular and cognitive health.

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.

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Jeesoo Lee, PhD

Research Assistant Professor of Radiology

Bio

With a mechanical engineering Ph.D. background, my expertise lies in flow imaging and analysis for experimental fluid dynamics investigation. My key research interest is developing a multimodality quantitative cardiovascular flow assessment technique to understand cardiovascular fluid dynamics better and improve the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. My current work focuses on combining 4D flow MRI, echocardiography, and in-vitro flow modeling to understand valvular heart diseases better.

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.

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Daniel Kim, PhD

Knight Family Professor of Cardiac Imaging

Professor of Radiology (Basic and Translational Radiology Research) and McCormick School of Engineering

Bio

I am the Director of CV Imaging at the Center for Translational Imaging. My research focuses on development of rapid MRI acquisition and reconstruction methods to address unmet needs in cardiovascular medicine. Our lab focuses on breaking new grounds in cardiovascular MRI by developing innovative pulse sequences and reconstruction methods to address unmet clinical needs in cardiovascular medicine. Building upon active collaboration with radiology and cardiology colleagues, our research activities span from imaging technology development to clinical translation in cardiovascular medicine.

Currently, ongoing projects include:

Role of diffuse LV fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation
Real-time CMR for diagnosing CAD
Rapid pediatric CMR without requiring contrast agent or anesthesia
Advanced CMR assessment of left atrial hemodynamic disorders in atrial fibrillation
Wideband CMR for predicting pre-implant right heart failure in LVAD candidates
Wideband CMR for imaging patients with ICDs

For details and images, visit the Northwestern CVMRI Group page.

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.

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Kai Lin, MD, MS

Research Associate Professor of Radiology (Basic and Translational Radiology Research)

Bio

I have a broad background in quantitative cardiovascular imaging, with specific training and expertise in coronary artery MRI. My research is focusing on identifying abnormalities in cardiac function and motion in patients suffering pulmonary hypertension (PH) and heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). I am also working evaluating hemodynamic changes in the context of complex cardiovascular syndromes using novel techniques, such as radiomics. Recently, I am also developing research projects on developing novel quantitative imaging biomarkers for represent cardiovascular risks in very old adults (> 75 years old). For details and images, visit the Northwestern CVMRI Group page.

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.

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Michael Markl, PhD

Vice Chair for Research, Department of Radiology

Lester B. and Frances T. Knight Professor of Cardiac Imaging

Professor of Radiology (Basic and Translational Radiology Research)/McCormick School of Engineering

Bio

I am currently the Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Radiology. I have established a strong interdisciplinary research consortium. My research has had a major impact on the diagnosis and management of heart disease and stroke including 1) development of novel imaging techniques for the assessment of cardiac structure, function and hemodynamics, and 2) discovery of mechanisms underlying cardiovascular diseases development and cryptogenic stroke (aortic hemodynamics as a mechanism in the development of BAV aortopathy; retrograde embolization from aortic plaques and left atrial flow dynamics in atrial fibrillation as risk factors for stroke). I am internationally recognized as the pioneer of 4D flow MRI and work in this area has advanced the understanding of cardiovascular disease processes as well as enhanced patient care. I have created a highly successful and inseminating training environment in MRI technique development and translational imaging research. For details and images, visit the Northwestern CVMRI Group page.

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.

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Ann Ragin, PhD

Research Professor of Radiology (Basic and Translational Radiology Research)

Bio

My research projects include Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging strategies for in vivo measurement of the brain to investigate effects of aging and of viruses, particularly HIV infection. Brain network analysis to investigate effects of aging and for early detection of neural injury. Collaborative projects involve applications of 4D flow imaging to investigate alterations in cerebral blood flow and relation to brain status. For details and images, visit the Northwestern CVMRI Group page.

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.

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Bo Zhou, PhD

Dr. Bo Zhou, Associate Professor of Radiology

Assistant Professor of Radiology

Bio

Dr. Zhou received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Yale University with the highest PhD honor of the Harding Bliss Prize. He also holds a Master's in Computer Vision from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master's in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. His research mainly focuses on AI for multi-modal medical imaging, especially in PET, SPECT, MRI, and CT.

His areas of research are Radiology; Radiology, X-ray, CAT Scan, Medical Imaging; Radionuclide Imaging; Cardiovascular Imaging; Medical Informatics; Bioinformatics; Big Data; Quantitative MRI; Radiation Oncology; Preventive Medicine; Pathology; Oncology; Translational Research

Profile, Grants, & Publications

For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.