Daniel B. Vigneron Lab

Professor Daniel Vigneron's research focuses on the development of advanced functional and metabolic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques for the study of prostate cancer, brain tumors, and diseases. He is also a core member of UCB/UCSF Graduate Group in Bioengineering.

Dr. Vigneron's group of researchers focus on developing new metabolic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques for both basic research and clinical assessments of human diseases. This requires the development of new hardware/software and MR protocols to provide biochemical information in addition to the anatomic information provided by clinical MRI. The Vigneron lab group develops novel coil and software techniques for high field MRI, MR spectroscopy and MR diffusion imaging techniques. The group has optimized these 3T & 7T MR methods for studies of brain, prostate cancer and other organs and diseases. The Vigneron lab, located in Byers Hall on the UCSF Mission Bay campus, are now developing improved acquisition techniques and hardware for multinuclear MR spectroscopy including hyperpolarized carbon-13 metabolic imaging in the Surbeck Laboratory for Advanced Imaging. The group has a particular focus on the development of novel 3T and 7T MR methods and Dr. Vigneron is the Operations Director overseeing the technical operations of the Surbeck Laboratory. Dr. Vigneron is the Director of the NIH-funded Hyperpolarized MRI Technology Resource Center (HMTRC) and project leader for the development of novel DNP methology and HP MR acquisition techniques. He also directs the UCSF Advanced Imaging Technologies Specialized Resource Group and the UCSF RRP Human Imaging Services Core.

UCSF MR Imaging Labs Tour Video

Publication #340 Title: Improving Multiparametric MR-Transrectal ultrasound Guided Fusion Prostate biopsies with Hyperpolarized ¹³C Pyruvate Metabolic imaging: A technical development study

Authors: Chen HY, Bok RA, Cooperberg MR, Nguyen HG, Shinohara K, Westphalen AC, Wang ZJ, Ohliger MA, Gebrezgiabhier D, Carvajal L, Gordon JW, Larson PEZ, Aggarwal R, Kurhanewicz J, Vigneron DB

Purpose: To develop techniques and establish a workflow using hyperpolarized carbon-13 (¹³C) MRI and the pyruvate-to-lactate conversion rate (k_PL) biomarker to guide MR-transrectal ultrasound fusion prostate biopsies.

Publication #339 Title: Kinetic Analysis of Multi-Resolution Hyperpolarized ¹³C Human Brain MRI to Study Cerebral Metabolism

Authors: Hu JY, Kim Y, Autry AW, Frost MM, Bok RA, Villanueva-Meyer JE, Xu D, Li Y, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, Gordon JW

Purpose: To investigate multi-resolution hyperpolarized (HP) ¹³C pyruvate MRI for measuring kinetic conversion rates in the human brain.

Publication #338 Title: Development of Specialized Magnetic Resonance Acquisition Techniques for Human Hyperpolarized [¹³C, ¹⁵N₂] Urea + [1-¹³C]Pyruvate Simultaneous Perfusion and Metabolic Imaging

Authors: Liu X, Tang S, Mu C, Qin H, Cui D, Lai YC, Riselli AM, Delos Santos R, Carvajal L, Gebrezgiabhier D, Bok RA, Chen HY, Flavell RR, Gordon JW, Vigneron DB, Kurhanewicz J, Larson PEZ

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and demonstrate the in vivo feasibility of a 3D stack-of-spiral balanced steady-state free precession (3D-bSSFP) urea sequence, interleaved with a metabolite-specific gradient echo (GRE) sequence for pyruvate and metabolic products, for improving the SNR and spatial resolution of the first hyperpolarized ¹³C -MRI human study with injection of co-hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate and [¹³C, ¹⁵N₂]urea.

Publication #337 Title: Whole-Abdomen Metabolic Imaging of Healthy Volunteers Using Hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]Pyruvate MRI

Authors: Lee PM, Chen HY, Gordon JW, Wang ZJ, Bok R, Hashoian R, Kim Y, Liu X, Nickles T, Cheung K, De Las Alas F, Daniel H, Larson PEZ, von Morze C, Vigneron DB, Ohliger MA

Purpose: Image Hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate and products in the abdomens of healthy volunteers, overcoming challenges of motion, magnetic field variations, and spatial coverage. Compare hyperpolarized [1-¹³C]pyruvate metabolism across abdominal organs of healthy volunteers.