Being able to characterize airway and lung disease in both adults and children without exposure to radiation or the use of sedation is of great value. Our work covers several areas including lung cancer, cystic fibrosis, and sleep apnea.
Lung cancer screening typically involves CT scans which require radiation exposure. As an alternative, MRI of the lungs has traditionally been difficult because of slow capture times of moving/breathing lungs, and a relatively small signal from lung tissues. The new 0.55T MRI technology at DISC optimizes overcomes this limitation, now allowing for capturing the lungs with greater clarity and detail. We believe this could be more effective for screening, identifying small lung nodules and potentially early lung cancer, and for monitoring nodules over time. Real-time evaluation of airway dynamics without the need for sedation, especially in children and youth, is also now possible.
The team members involved are each uniquely committed, each with expertise in their own area. The clinical researchers define the use case for the new technology and guide its development in the way that is most practical in clinical use. Integration with the technology team is essential for this to be possible. The team values communication and education as the most important features of their collaboration, with each team member learning the “language” and skills of their counterpart. There is a clear understanding that when the clinical researchers can easily speak on the technology and the engineering team can speak to the clinical audience, success will result.
Team Members
Alison Wilcox, MD
Professor of Clinical Radiology
Medical Director, Keck Hospital
Dr. Wilcox has expertise in thoracic imaging and utilizes her experience to both identify lung pathology and to guide potential next steps in clinical care.
Jorge Nieva, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Dr. Nieva brings to the team 20 years of experience in oncology research related to biomarkers and prognostic predictors, and has an active research program in digital health. He is Section Head of Solid Tumors in the Division of Medical Oncology, and the physician leader for the lung and head and neck disease team at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Roberta Kato, MD
Attending Physician, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC
Dr. Kato is a pediatric pulmonologist with clinical experience providing care for children with some of the most rare and complex cases. She is especially interested in developing a more sensitive and accurate way to measure lung disease in children.
Stanford Chun, MD
Pediatric Pulmonology Fellow, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
Ziwei Zhao
PhD Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Nam Gyun Lee
PhD Student, Biomedical Engineering
Ye Tian
Postdoctoral Fellow and 0.55T MRI Physicist
Sophia Cui
Siemens MR Scientist
Dr. Cui is an onsite scientist and is part of the Siemens MR Research Collaboration Group. She works with research partners to brainstorm, design, and execute research projects with the goal of driving innovative and clinically relevant MR techniques from prototype to positive impact on patient lives. She also provides software and hardware technical know-how to DISC researchers to enable the success of collaborative projects.
Krishna Nayak
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Radiology
Dr. Nayak is an expert in how MRI hardware and software work together to make pictures and videos of the human body. He is an expert at MRI of moving things like the lungs.