Interventional Radiology & Image-Guided Therapy
The interventional radiology research team consists of a diverse group of scientists and physicians who strive to develop novel minimally invasive image-guided therapies. A major focus of this group is in the Interventional Oncology space and the development of novel drug delivery systems. Through collaboration with colleagues in areas across the Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern University (including medical oncology, transplant surgery, hepatology, vascular surgery, biomedical engineering and molecular biology), our research interests have recently included development of novel drug delivery systems using nanotechnology approaches, techniques for catheter-based embolization of tumors, novel ablation strategies and device development.
Dong-Hyun Kim, PhD
Associate Professor of Radiology (Basic and Translational Radiology Research)
Bio
Image-guided medicine is rapidly growing to improve treatment regimens and advancing medical imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), radiography, ultrasound, positron emission tomography (PET), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). A combination of modern nanoplatforms with high performance in imaging and therapeutics may be critical to improve medical outcomes.
One of emerging fields is image-guided therapy using various nanoparticles. Therapies include basic bench, preclinical in vitro/in vivo and clinical researches combining synthesis of multifunctional nanoparticle and tracking/navigation tools to improve accuracy and outcomes of the therapeutics. Most of the emerging interventional technique such as heat-activated targeted drug delivery, image guided ablation (microwave or HIFU), percutaneous injection gene/bacteria therapy, transcatheter treatments for tumor specific local therapy, serial biopsy, thrombolytic therapy, and so on, can be combined with nanotechnology in clinic.
My research engages in careful design/selection/synthesis of multifunctional imaging/therapeutic nanomaterials with therapeutic agents will be critical for the translational optimization these new image guided medicine techniques. The DHKIM Lab for Biomaterials of Image Guided NanoMedicine has focused on developing various therapeutic/imaging carriers for the treatment of various cancers. Micro/Nanoparticles and their hybrid derivatives have been exploited as vectors for drug/therapeutic delivery and molecular imaging agents of MRI, CT, ultrasound and luminescent/fluorescents. We are working closely with clinicians, medical scientists, biologist and imaging professionals to translate new therapeutic approaches using multifunctional carriers and diagnostic imaging technique to the clinical setting.
Lab Manager: Xiaoke Huang
For more information on my research, please view my Feinberg School of Medicine faculty profile.
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Lirong Yan, PhD
Associate Professor of Radiology (Basic and Translational Radiology Research)
Bio
Dr. Yan is a tenured Associate Professor of Radiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Before she joined Northwestern University in 2022, she was a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California. Dr. Yan directs the Laboratory for Neurovascular Imaging Technology and Translation (NITT) at Department of Radiology. The research of her group focuses on developing novel MRI techniques for cerebral vascular and perfusion imaging (e.g., arterial spin labeling). Her research expertise includes MRI pulse sequence development, fast image acquisition and reconstruction, image processing, etc. Over the last decade, Dr. Yan and her team have developed several cutting-edged MRI techniques, including non-contrast enhanced time-resolved rapid 4-dimensional MR angiography, cerebrovascular territory mapping, cerebral arterial compliance and pulsatility, concurrent BOLD/ASL, etc.
Dr. Yan is also interested in translating novel MRI technology into a variety of clinical applications, such as cerebrovascular disease (stroke, intracranial atherosclerosis, arteriovenous malformation, moyamoya disease) and neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, aging). The mission of Dr. Yan’s research program is to develop non-invasive diagnostic MR imaging tools for cerebrovascular diseases and new imaging biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases.
Profile, Grants, & Publications
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