UArizona Researcher Awarded $2.2 Million to Develop Imaging Technology to Combat Colon Cancer
Dr. Maria Altbach, Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Medical Imaging is working with industry partners to improve MRI detection of liver tumors and expand therapeutic options for colorectal cancer patients.
TUCSON, Ariz. – Research at the University of Arizona Health Sciences is developing technology to detect small liver tumors that will provide better outcomes for patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
The National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), awarded a $2.2 million, five-year R01 grant to advance the research of Maria Altbach, PhD, professor and vice chair of research in the Department of Medical Imaging at the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson. The grant enables scientific and engineering teams at UArizona and Siemens Healthineers to work together to enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques for tumor detection.
Dr. Altbach and Diego Martin, MD, PhD, a former UArizona professor and department head now at McGill University, are co-principal investigators. Other investigators on the grant are: Ali Bilgin, PhD, a UArizona associate professor of biomedical engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and medical imaging; Hina Arif, MD, associate professor, medical imaging; Kevin Johnson, MRI systems and design director; Denise Roe, DrPH, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, UArizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health; Vibhas Deshpande, PhD, director, Siemens Healthineers MRI collaborations team; and Boris Mailhe, PhD, research scientist, Siemens Healthineers.
Research team members by MRI scanner (left to right): Scott Squire, Maria Altbach, PhD, and doctoral student Lavanya Umapathy. (Photo: Jane Pruitt/University of Arizona Department of Medical Imaging)
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