Grant Recipient Impact Statement
Foundation of the ASNR Grant Program – Nancy Pham
Grant Recipient Year: 2023
Multi-technique MR Perfusion Evaluation of Nasopharyngeal Carcinomas: A Study Assessing the Concurrent Use of Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast-enhanced, Dynamic Contrast-enhanced, and Arterial Spin Labeling for Whole-tumor Characterization and Biomarker Discovery
Integrating functional MR perfusion biomarkers with genomic plasma EBV-DNA and 18FDG-PET/CT metabolic parameters can potentially improve tumor staging, prognostication, and surveillance beyond the traditional AJCC TNM staging system alone. The Foundation grant proved instrumental in my development as a clinician-scientist. It will support 12 months of dedicated research time, enabling me to collect crucial data for my research on NPC. This data has already directly contributed to my ability to secure additional grant funding. This early success strengthens my resolve to bridge the gap between clinical practice and scientific advancement
Nancy Pham, MD
Stanford University
Foundation of the ASNR Grant Program – Licia Luna
Grant Recipient Year: 2023
Investigating the Resting State Functional Connectivity and Molecular Underpinnings of the Association between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Dementia
This grant has provided me with the opportunity to conduct a comprehensive multimodal investigation, enabling me to uncover the molecular and functional mechanisms underlying the link between post-traumatic stress disorder and cognitive decline… With the generous support of the Foundation, I am eager to continue investigating this interdisciplinary field, bridging functional MRI with molecular insights to enhance outcomes for patients with neuropsychiatric disorders… and motivated to leverage our findings to secure additional funding. Your ongoing support is essential as we strive to make meaningful strides in patient care and address the challenges posed by cognitive and psychiatric conditions.
Licia Luna, MD, PhD
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Foundation of the ASNR Grant Program – Peter Kamel
Grant Recipient Year: 2023
Cross-Modality Stroke Segmentation using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks for Detection of Acute Ischemic Infarcts on Non-Contrast Head CT
I am incredibly thankful and appreciative of the Foundation of the ASNR in support of my early career. The time afforded by the grant has been instrumental in allowing me to pursue the research I am passionate about. Through the support of the grant, we have been able to perform cutting edge artificial intelligence research in stroke imaging, developing machine learning models to improve the detection and localization of early ischemic infarcts on CT by training on MRI results. The work has already led to multiple presentations, paper submissions, and grant applications with the potential to impact patient care. This would not have been possible at all without the support of the Foundation of the ASNR.
Peter Kamel, MD
University of Maryland
Foundation of the ASNR Grant Program – Virginia Hill
Grant Recipient Year: 2023
Augmented Intelligence Analysis of Meningioma MRIs According to DNA Methylation Subgroups, Molecular Markers, and Copy Number Variants
I am so grateful for this grant supporting research in meningiomas, the most common primary intracranial tumor. Given two identical appearing meningiomas, one will grow while the other will eventually kill the patient. Radiomics will be able to differentiate between aggressive and “quiet” meningiomas noninvasively. Eventually, we will be able to use the AI analysis to noninvasively predict molecular markers and DNA methylation subtypes and choose appropriate, personalized treatment that will improve patient quality of life and survival. This grant provides essential support to early researchers. It is an investment that will pay off in future, larger projects that will fuel our endeavors to improve patient safety, make treatments more effective, and improve patients’ lives.
Virginia Hill, MD
Northwestern University
Women in Neuroradiology Leadership Award – Nikdokht (Niky) Farid
Grant Recipient Year: 2023
Thank you again for the Women in Neuroradiology Leadership Award and the opportunity to attend the RLI Summit in Boston. I found the meeting to be highly educational and inspirational. I had an opportunity to meet and network with many academic and private practice radiologists from across the country. I am certain that the tools I learned about the business and finances of radiology, the art of negotiation, and leadership skills will be extremely useful to me in my career.
Nikdokht (Niky) Farid, MD
UC San Diego Health
Foundation of the ASNR Grant Program Recipient – Henrik Ullman
Grant Recipient Year: 2022
Intraprocedural measurement of stroke reperfusion volume and outcome prediction using digital subtraction angiography
Improved imaging biomarkers will continue to push the boundaries of clinical care for neurological diseases. My research is focusing on develop standardized measures of brain perfusion, known to be of high importance in the setting of acute ischemic stroke. As more and more patients with stroke are taken directly for mechanical thrombectomy catheter angiography derived imaging markers has the potential to provide timely information to guide treatment. The Foundation of the ASNR grant has provided important initial resources for me to perform this work during the transition from a busy fellowship to junior faculty.
Henrik Ullman, MD, PhD
Washington University, St. Louis
Foundation of the ASNR Grant Program Recipient – Emmanuel Obusez
Grant Recipient Year: 2022
Ex Vivo 170 microns Ultra-High Spatial Resolution 7T MRI Characterization of Multiple Sclerosis Paramagnetic Rim Lesions with Histologic Correlation
Paramagnetic rim lesions (PRLs) may serve as an imaging marker for the work up of multiple sclerosis (MS) progression and treatment. With the help of the ASNR foundation grant, we are working to establish a radiologic-histological correlation for PRLs. The study of PRLs and this research could clinically impact MS diagnosis and monitoring, may better determine the efficacy of existing therapeutic agents or stimulate development of new therapeutics, and overall may help reduce disability associated with disease progression. This work would not have been possible without the generous support of the Foundation.
Emmanuel Obusez, MD
Cleveland Clinic
Boerger Research Fund for Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurocognitive Disorders – Vivek Prabhakaran
Grant Recipient Year: 2022
Use of AI for intermodality conversion of brain MR to PET for diagnosis of AD, MCI, and aging normals
Our research is attempting to use an Artificial Intelligence model to convert MRI to PET. Successful completion of this project would have major clinical implications in offering an alternative to PET in the clinical workup of different diseases such as Alzheimer’s Dementia, Epilepsy, and Cancer. The Foundation grant has been essential in providing the funding necessary to perform the initial studies needed for proof of principle. This would be the necessary first step in conducting larger studies to validate this approach for clinical use.
Vivek Prabhakaran, MD, PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Foundation of the ASNR Grant Program Recipient – Evan Calabrese
Grant Recipient Year: 2022
Prospective Evaluation of Automated Pre- and Postoperative Tumor Segmentation for Patients with Glioblastoma
The primary goal of our study is to develop and evaluate a state-of-the-art automated pre- and postoperative glioblastoma volumetric segmentation algorithm at a high-volume brain tumor center. The significance of this study is that it will provide a new tool for automated, objective assessment of progression and/or treatment response in patients with glioblastoma. This tool will be useful for clinical decision support, for standardized response assessment in research studies including clinical trials, and for the development of commercial products to facilitate widespread deployment. This Foundation of the American Society of Neuroradiology grant has been instrumental in jumpstarting my research career as a junior academic neuroradiology faculty member. With this award I have been able to secure essential dedicated research time and personnel support to help achieve my early career research goals. All FASNR donors should know that these awards make a difference and help build successful radiology research careers.
Evan Calabrese, MD, PhD
Duke University
Neuroradiology Research Grant in Artificial Intelligence – Vishal Patel
Grant Recipient Year: 2019
The new…Award has helped to develop computational models to predict tumor grade and genetic characteristics based on noninvasive imaging and demographic data alone, a result which may ultimately allow for safer and more efficient decision-making in the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumors…The Foundation of the ASNR, by establishing this award, has made it possible for radiologists to participate in the resource-intensive exploration of this new frontier of machine learning and neuroimaging.
Vishal Patel, MD, PhD
Keck School of Medicine of USC
Comparative Effectiveness Research Award – Lea Alhilali, MD
Grant Recipient Year: 2019
Evaluation of a Single Bolus, Multi-Echo Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast Protocol in Patients with Glioblastoma
It is appropriate that it is called the Foundation of the ASNR because the Comparative Effective Grant has helped build so many foundations: a foundation for better imaging methods in glioblastoma, a foundation for my own research career, and through all its grants, a foundation for the future generation of researchers in neuroradiology.
Lea Alhilali, MD
Barrow Neurological Institute
Trainee Research Award in Neuroradiology – Andreas Rauschecker
Grant Recipient Year: 2019
Human-Interpretable AI-Based Quantitative Metrics for X-Linked ALD
This award has enabled me to do research aimed at improving the quality of care in patients with X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy during a busy fellowship year. This grant and the related work have helped launch my academic neuroradiology career and strengthened important collaborations with multiple clinical departments. By supporting trainees’ research, the Foundation is enabling future generations of radiologists to improve the practice of neuroradiology … Thank you to the Foundation!
Andreas Rauschecker, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco