UCSF Body Imaging Research Group

The Body Imaging Research Group includes a broad range of experts on all types of medical imaging who use these techniques to study the abdomen, pelvis, breasts, and musculoskeletal system to improve our understanding of their fundamental and holistic role in health, and how to prevent and heal damage to the body.

Body Research Group

First-in-man prostate cancer imaging with hyperpolarized carbon-13 pyruvate MRI - John Kurhanewicz, PhD

Musculoskeletal research at UCSF includes image enhancement and acceleration methods, PET/MRI, and automated analyses.

MR-guided Ultrasound therapies are guided by advanced imaging including MR thermometry - Kisoo Kim, PhD

Advanced imaging of kidney injury

Multi-energy CT and new contrast development - Benjamin Yeh, MD

Who we serve

Research lead by the UCSF Body Imaging Research Group will translate to healthier futures for:

• Patients suffering from complications caused by fatty liver disease, diabetes, or obesity, as well as related metabolic disorders
• Patients who are suffering from diseases in the bones and joints, such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, chronic back pain
• Patients who are at risk for cancer of the breast, abdomen and pelvis who can be assisted in their diagnostic process
• People with cancers of the body, such as breast, prostate, and renal cancer, where we help individualize treatment for better outcomes and reduced side effects

Conditions we address

The clinical application of our body imaging research will help manage:

• Prostate cancer
• Breast cancer
• Liver conditions
• Kidney conditions
• Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis
• Chronic Pain
• Uterine fibroids
• Diabetes
• Metabolic disorders
• Cancers of the abdomen and pelvis
• Metastatic disease

Who we partner with

Our research is enabled by the connections that are essential to advance shared goals of advancing human health:

• Patients and their families
• Researchers from our own and other institutions
• Education and training programs to develop the next generation of scientists
• Industrial partners making advances in imaging available worldwide
• Visionaries who seek to serve the populations we do
• Donors committed to improving the lives of others

Who we are

The Body Imaging Research Group is made up of a diverse group of scientists, engineers, and clinicians whose teams include faculty members, staff scientists, research assistants, postdoctoral fellows, medical and graduate students, and clinical research coordinators.

Body Imaging Research Labs

• Abdominal and Pelvic MRI
• Biomechanics and Musculoskeletal Imaging Lab (Souza Lab)
• Bone Quality Research Lab (Kazakia Lab)
• Breast Imaging Research Group
• Cancer Metabolic Imaging & Therapy Lab (Viswanath & Ronen Labs)
• Contrast Material and CT Translational Research Lab
• Evans Lab
• Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Lab
• Hyperpolarized MRI Technology Resource Center
• Interventional Radiology Research Lab
• Isotopic Molecular Imaging Group (Wilson Lab)
• Larson Advanced Imaging Research Group
• Molecular Imaging Lab (Flavell Lab)
• Musculoskeletal Quantitative Imaging Research (MQIR)
• PET/SPECT Radiochemistry
• Physics Research Laboratory
• ​Program for Molecular Imaging and Targeted Therapy (Hope Lab)
• Translational Metabolic Imaging Lab (Sriram-Kurhanewicz-Peehl)
• Vigneron Lab

Body Imaging Clinical Research Sections

• Abdominal Imaging Clinical Section Research
• Nuclear Medicine Clinical Section Research
• Women's Imaging Clinical Section Research

The Body Imaging Research Group Members

MR-guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) treatments combine the expertise of research and clinical faculty