Researchers in the Ami Shah Lab study scleroderma and Raynaud’s phenomenon. We examine the rela...tionship between cancer and scleroderma, with a focus on how and if cancer causes scleroderma to develop in some patients. We are currently conducting clinical research to study ways to detect cardiopulmonary complications in patients with scleroderma, biological and imaging markers of Raynaud’s phenomenon, and drugs that improve aspects of scleroderma. view more

Researchers in the Center for Cell Dynamics study spatially and temporally regulated molecular ...events in living cells, tissues and organisms. The team develops and applies innovative biosensors and imaging techniques to monitor dozens of critical signaling pathways in real time. The new tools help them investigate the fundamental cellular behaviors that underlie embryonic development, wound healing, cancer progression, and functions of the immune and nervous systems. view more

Research in the Biophotonics Imaging Technologies (BIT) Laboratory focuses on developing optica...l imaging and nano-biophotonics technology to reduce the random sampling errors in clinical diagnosis, improve early disease detection and guidance of biopsy and interventions, and improve targeted therapy and monitoring treatment outcomes. The imaging technologies feature nondestructiveness, unique functional and molecular specificity, and multi-scale resolution (from organ, to architectural morphology, cellular, subcellular and molecular level). The nano-biophotonics technologies emphasize heavily on biocompatibility, multi-function integration and fast track clinical translation. These imaging and nano-biophotonics technologies can also be potentially powerful tools for basic research such as for drug screening, nondestructive assessment of engineered biomaterials in vitro and in vivo, and for studying brain functions on awake animals under normal or controlled social conditions. view more

The Cammarato Lab is located in the Division of Cardiology in the Department of Medicine at the... Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. We are interested in basic mechanisms of striated muscle biology.

We employ an array of imaging techniques to study “structural physiology” of cardiac and skeletal muscle. Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly, expresses both forms of striated muscle and benefits greatly from powerful genetic tools. We investigate conserved myopathic (muscle disease) processes and perform hierarchical and integrative analysis of muscle function from the level of single molecules and macromolecular complexes through the level of the tissue itself.

Anthony Ross Cammarato, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine in the Cardiology Department. He studies the identification and manipulation of age- and mutation-dependent modifiers of cardiac function, hierarchical modeling and imaging of contractile machinery, integrative analysis of striated muscle performance and myopathic processes. view more

The Cardiology Bioengineering Laboratory, located in the Johns Hopkins Hospital, focuses on the... applications of advanced imaging techniques for arrhythmia management. The primary limitation of current fluoroscopy-guided techniques for ablation of cardiac arrhythmia is the inability to visualize soft tissues and 3-dimensional anatomic relationships.

Implementation of alternative advanced modalities has the potential to improve complex ablation procedures by guiding catheter placement, visualizing abnormal scar tissue, reducing procedural time devoted to mapping, and eliminating patient and operator exposure to radiation.

Active projects include
• Physiological differences between isolated hearts in ventricular fibrillation and pulseless electrical activity
• Successful ablation sites in ischemic ventricular tachycardia in a porcine model and the correlation to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• MRI-guided radiofrequency ablation of canine atrial fibrillation, and diagnosis and intervention for arrhythmias
• Physiological and metabolic effects of interruptions in chest compressions during cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Henry Halperin, MD, is co-director of the Johns Hopkins Imaging Institute of Excellence and a
professor of medicine, radiology and biomedical engineering. Menekhem M. Zviman, PhD is the laboratory manager.
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In conjunction with the Molecular Imaging Center, the Center for Infection and Inflammation Ima...ging Research core provides state-of-the art small animal imaging equipment, including PET, SPECT, CT and US, to support the wide range of scientific projects within the diverse research community of the Johns Hopkins University and beyond. Trained technologists assist investigators in the use of these facilities. view more

The CRCIF was established to foster collaborative efforts aimed at elucidating the role of inte...rmediate filaments (IFs) in the heart. Intermediate filaments constitute a class of cytoskeletal proteins in metazoan cells, however, different from actin microfilaments and tubulin microtubules, their function in cardiac cells is poorly understood. Unique from the other two components of the cytoskeleton, IFs are formed by cell type-specific proteins. Desmin is the main component of the IFs in the cardiac myocytes. We measured the consistent induction of desmin post-translational modifications (PTMs, such as phosphorylation, etc.) in various clinical and experimental models of heart failure. Therefore, one of our main focuses is to determine the contribution of desmin PTMs to the development of heart failure in different animal and clinical models.

Active Projects:

• Quantification of desmin PTM-forms in different forms of heart failure at the peptide level using mass spectrometry
• Functional assessment of the role of desmin PTMs in heart failure development using single site mutagenesis and biophysical methods
• Molecular characterization of desmin preamyloid oligomers using mass spectrometry, in vitro and in vivo imaging
• Assessment of the diagnostic and pharmacological value of desmin PTMs in heart failure development view more

Research in the Clifton O. Bingham III Lab focuses on defining clinical and biochemical disease... phenotypes related to therapeutic responses in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis; developing rational clinical trial designs to test new treatments; improving patient-reported outcome measures; evaluating novel imaging modalities for arthritis; and examining the role of oral health in inflammatory arthritis. view more

The central theme of the CORE-320 Multicenter Trial Lab’s research is to support the Coronary A...rtery Evaluation Using 320-Row Multidetector CT Angiography (CORE 320) study, a multi-center multinational diagnostic study with the primary objective to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 320-MDCT for detecting coronary artery luminal stenosis and corresponding myocardial perfusion deficits in patients with suspected CAD compared with the reference standard of conventional coronary angiography and SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging.

Armin Arbab-Zadeh, MD, PhD, is an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Director of Cardiac Computed Tomography in the Division of Cardiology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Research Areas: coronary/cardiac imaging, coronary risk prediction, heart attack prevention, cardiac computed tomography, coronary circulation and disease
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The Dara Kraitchman Laboratory focuses on non-invasive imaging and minimally invasive treatment... of cardiovascular disease. Our laboratory is actively involved in developing new methods to image myocardial function and perfusion using MRI. Current research interests are aimed at determining the optimal timing and method of the administration of mesenchymal stem cells to regenerate infarcted myocardium using non-invasive MR fluoroscopic delivery and imaging. MRI and radiolabeling techniques include novel MR and radiotracer stem cell labeling methods to determine the location, quantity and biodistribution of stem cells after delivery as well as to noninvasively determine the efficacy of these therapies in acute myocardial infarction and peripheral arterial disease.

Our other research focuses on the development of new animal models of human disease for noninvasive imaging studies and the development of promising new therapies in clinical trials for companion animals.
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The Artemov lab is within the Division of Cancer Imaging Research in the Department of Radiolog...y and Radiological Science. The lab focuses on 1) Use of advanced dynamic contrast enhanced-MRI and activated dual-contrast MRI to perform image-guided combination therapy of triple negative breast cancer and to assess therapeutic response. 2) Development of noninvasive MR markers of cell viability based on a dual-contrast technique that enables simultaneous tracking and monitoring of viability of transplanted stems cells in vivo. 3) Development of Tc-99m and Ga-68 angiogenic SPECT/PET tracers to image expression of VEGF receptors that are involved in tumor angiogenesis and can be important therapeutic targets. 4) Development of the concept of “click therapy” that combines advantages of multi-component targeting, bio-orthogonal conjugation and image guidance and preclinical validation in breast and prostate cancer models. view more

Research in the Elizabeth Tucker Lab aims to find treatments that decrease neuroinflammation an...d improve recovery, as well as to improve morbidity and mortality in patients with infectious neurological diseases. We are currently working with Drs. Sujatha Kannan and Sanjay Jain to study neuroinflammation related to central nervous system tuberculosis – using an animal model to examine the role of neuroinflammation in this disease and how it can differ in developing brains and adult brains. Our team also is working with Dr. Jain to study noninvasive imaging techniques for use in monitoring disease progression and evaluating treatment responses. view more

Research in the Gregory Kirk Lab examines the natural history of viral infections — particularl...y HIV and hepatitis viruses — in the U.S. and globally. As part of the ALIVE (AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience) study, our research looks at a range of pathogenetic, clinical behavioral issues, with a special focus on non-AIDS-related outcomes of HIV, including cancer and liver and lung diseases. We use imaging and clinical, genetic, epigenetic and proteomic methods to identify and learn more about people at greatest risk for clinically relevant outcomes from HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C infections. Our long-term goal is to translate our findings into targeted interventions that help reduce the disease burden of these infections. view more

The Brain Health Program is a multidisciplinary team of faculty from the departments of neurolo...gy, psychiatry, epidemiology, and radiology lead by Leah Rubin and Jennifer Coughlin. In the hope of revealing new directions for therapies, the group studies molecular biomarkers identified from tissue and brain imaging that are associated with memory problems related to HIV infection, aging, dementia, mental illness and traumatic brain injury. The team seeks to advance policies and practices to optimize brain health in vulnerable populations while destigmatizing these brain disorders.

Current and future projects include research on: the roles of the stress response, glucocorticoids, and inflammation in conditions that affect memory and the related factors that make people protected or or vulnerable to memory decline; new mobile apps that use iPads to improve our detection of memory deficits; clinical trials looking at short-term effects of low dose hydrocortisone and randomized to 28 days of treatment; imaging brain injury and repair in NFL players to guide players and the game; and the role of inflammation in memory deterioration in healthy aging, patients with HIV, and other neurodegenerative conditions. view more

Our lab is interested in understanding the fundamental mechanisms of how cells move and implica...tions in disease treatment. We use an interdisciplinary approach involving fluorescent live cell imaging, genetics, and computer modeling to study the systems level properties of the biochemical networks that drive cell migration. view more

Complexity in signaling networks is often derived from co-opting one set of molecules for multi...ple operations. Understanding how cells achieve such sophisticated processing using a finite set of molecules within a confined space--what we call the "signaling paradox"--is critical to biology and engineering as well as the emerging field of synthetic biology.

In the Inoue Lab, we have recently developed a series of chemical-molecular tools that allow for inducible, quick-onset and specific perturbation of various signaling molecules. Using this novel technique in conjunction with fluorescence imaging, microfabricated devices, quantitative analysis and computational modeling, we are dissecting intricate signaling networks.

In particular, we investigate positive-feedback mechanisms underlying the initiation of neutrophil chemotaxis (known as symmetry breaking), as well as spatio-temporally compartmentalized signaling of Ras and membrane lipids such as phosphoinositides. In parallel, we also try to understand how cell morphology affects biochemical pathways inside cells. Ultimately, we will generate completely orthogonal machinery in cells to achieve existing, as well as novel, cellular functions. Our synthetic, multidisciplinary approach will elucidate the signaling paradox created by nature. view more

The In-vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Center conducts multidisciplinary research on cellul...ar and molecular imaging related to cancer. We provide resources, such as consultation on biostatistics and bioinformatics and optical imaging and probe development, to understand and effectively treat cancer. Our molecular oncology experts consult on preclinical studies, use of human tissues, interpretation of data and molecular characterization of cells and tumor tissue. view more

The J. Webster Stayman Lab studies both emission tomography and transmission tomography (CT, to...mosynthesis and cone-beam CT). Our research activities relate to 3-D reconstruction, including model-based statistical / iterative reconstruction, regularization methods and modeling of imaging systems. We are developing a generalized framework for penalized likelihood (PL) reconstruction combining statistical models of noise and image formation with incorporation of prior information, including patient-specific prior images, atlases and models of components / devices known to be in the field of view. Our research includes algorithm development and physical experimentation for imaging system design and optimization. view more

How do we see, hear, and think? More specifically, how can we study living people to understand... how the brain sees, hears, and thinks? Recently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a powerful anatomical imaging technique widely used for clinical diagnosis, was further developed into a tool for probing brain function. By sensitizing magnetic resonance images to the changes in blood oxygenation that occur when regions of the brain are highly active, we can make "movies" that reveal the brain at work. Dr. Pekar works on the development and application of this MRI technology.

Dr. Pekar is a biophysicist who uses a variety of magnetic resonance techniques to study brain physiology and function. Dr. Pekar serves as Manager of the F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, a research resource where imaging scientists and neuroscientists collaborate to study brain function using unique state-of-the-art techniques in a safe comfortable environment, to further develop such techniques, and to provide training and education. Dr. Pekar works with center staff to serve the center's users and to keep the center on the leading edge of technology.
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Research in the Janet Record Lab focuses on medical education and patient-centered care. We’re ...currently developing a curriculum for internal medicine residents in the inpatient general medicine service setting. The curriculum teaches residents to use hand-carried ultrasound for imaging the inferior vena cava to assess volume status. view more

The clinical development of novel immune and stem cell therapies calls for suitable methods tha...t can follow the fate of cells non-invasively in humans at high resolution. The Bulte Lab has pioneered methods to label cells magnetically (using tiny superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles) in order to make them visible by MR imaging.

While the lab is doing basic bench-type research, there is a strong interaction with the clinical interventional radiology and oncology groups in order to bring the methodologies into the clinic. view more

Dr. Zhou's research focuses on developing new in vivo MRI and MRS methodologies to study brain ...function and disease. His most recent work includes absolute quantification of cerebral blood flow, quantification of functional MRI, high-resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), magnetization transfer mechanism, development of chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) technology, brain pH MR imaging, and tissue protein MR imaging. Notably, Dr. Zhou and his colleagues invented the amide proton transfer (APT) approach for brain pH imaging and tumor protein imaging. His initial paper on brain pH imaging was published in Nature Medicine in 2003 and his most recent paper on tumor treatment effects was published in Nature Medicine in 2011. A major part of his current research is the pre-clinical and clinical imaging of brain tumors, strokes, and other neurologic disorders using the APT and other novel MRI techniques. The overall goal is to achieve the MRI contrast at the protein and peptide level without injection of exogenous agents and improve the diagnostic capability of MRI and the patient outcomes. view more

The Jon Russell lab focuses on thyroid and parathyroid pathology as well as improving patient s...afety and education using healthcare technology. Additional focuses include utilizing new technology to advance on the techniques of minimally invasive neck surgery. Current and previous efforts include the development of mobile and web-based applications to educate physicians and patients, utilizing ultrasound for vocal cord imaging, understanding the nuances of advanced thyroid cancer, and exploring the role of scarless thyroid surgery in a North American population. view more

Dr. Hua's research has centered on the development of novel MRI technologies for in vivo functi...onal and physiological imaging in the brain, and the application of such methods for studies in healthy and diseased brains. These include the development of human and animal MRI methods to measure functional brain activities, cerebral perfusion and oxygen metabolism at high (3 Tesla) and ultra-high (7 Tesla and above) magnetic fields. He is particularly interested in novel MRI approaches to image small blood and lymphatic vessels in the brain. Collaborating with clinical investigators, these techniques have been applied 1) to detect functional, vascular and metabolic abnormalities in the brain in neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntingdon's disease (HD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mental disorders such as schizophrenia; and 2) to map brain functions and cerebrovascular reactivity for presurgical planning in patients with vascular malformations, brain tumors and epilepsy. view more

The Karakousis Lab is primarily focused on understanding the molecular basis of Mycobacterium t...uberculosis persistence and antibiotic tolerance. A systems biology-based approach, including the use of several novel in vitro and animal models, in combination with transcriptional, proteomic, genetic, imaging, and computational techniques, is being used to identify host cytokine networks responsible for immunological control of M. tuberculosis growth, as well as M. tuberculosis regulatory and metabolic pathways required for bacillary growth restriction and reactivation. In particular, we are actively investigating the regulatory cascade involved in the mycobacterial stringent response. Another major focus of the lab is the development of host-directed therapies for TB, with the goal of shortening treatment and improving long-term lung function. Additional research interests include the development of novel molecular assays for the rapid diagnosis of latent TB infection and active TB disease, and for the detection of drug resistance. view more

Dr. Amir Kashani and his team are developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods to diagno...se and treat retinal diseases using advanced imaging methods. These methods can detect the earliest changes in retinal capillaries before they are noticeable to the patient or doctor. view more

The Glunde lab is within the Division of Cancer Imaging Research in the Department of Radiology... and Radiological Science. The lab is developing mass spectrometry imaging as part of multimodal molecular imaging workflows to image and elucidate hypoxia-driven signaling pathways in breast cancer. They are working to further unravel the molecular basis of the aberrant choline phospholipid metabolism in cancer. The Glunde lab is developing novel optical imaging agents for multi-scale molecular imaging of lysosomes in breast tumors and discovering structural changes in Collagen I matrices and their role in breast cancer and metastasis. view more

The Johns Hopkins Laboratory of Computational Intensive Care Medicine (LCICM) has been establis...hed to gain knowledge on the mechanisms of critical illness and injury, with the aim of identifying novel methods to treat patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Members of the lab apply mathematical and statistical models, artificial intelligence, and domain expertise to unravel patterns in data from sources such as electronic health records, high-frequency physiological recordings, and medical imaging. These patterns are resolved into health signatures that can be leveraged for classification and prediction. The overarching goal is to enhance the precision, efficacy, and outcomes of care delivered to critically ill patients. view more

The Lima Lab’s research is concentrated on the development and application of imaging and techn...ology to address scientific and clinical problems involving the heart and vascular system.

Specifically, our research is focused on developing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast techniques to investigate microvascular function in patients and experimental animals with myocardial infarction; functional reserve secondary to dobutamine stimulation and myocardial viability assessed by sodium imaging; and cardiac MRI and computed tomography (CT) program development of techniques to characterize atherosclerosis in humans with cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease.

Current projects include:
• The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study
• The MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) Study
• The Coronary Artery Evaluation using 64-row Multidetector Computed Tomography Angiography (CORE64) Study

Joao Lima, MD, is a professor of medicine, radiology and epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. view more

The Penet lab is within the Division of Cancer Imaging Research in the Department of Radiology ...and Radiological Science. The lab research focuses on using multimodal imaging techniques to better understand the microenvironment and improve cancer early detection, especially in ovarian cancer. By combining MRI, MRS and optical imaging, we are studying the tumor microenvironment to understand the role of hypoxia, tumor vascularization, macromolecular transport and tumor metabolism in tumor progression, metastasis and ascites formation in orthotopic models of cancer. We also are studying the role of tumor-associated macrophages in tumor progression. view more