Ferenc Jolesz First Monday Research Seminar Series
The Department of Radiology holds a monthly Ferenc Jolesz Seminar Series presented by Harvard Medical School investigators, as well as speakers from other institutions, on a wide range of topics related to image-guided therapy. These seminars honor the late FERENC JOLESZ, MD who founded the multidisciplinary image-guided therapy program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is widely known as a founding father of the field of image-guided therapy.
UPCOMING SEMINARS
DATE: Monday, April 7th, 2025 | TIME: 12:15pm-1:15pm | LOCATION: This seminar will be held via Zoom.
Jenna Mueller, PhD : Improving Cancer Management in Low and Middle-Income Countries through Human-Centered Biomedical Device Design
Jenna Mueller, PhD
Assistant Professor
Fischell Department of Bioengineering
University of Maryland
Worldwide cancer deaths are project to increase 50% in the next 20 years. Over 70% of cancer-related deaths occur in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), and 50% of those deaths are considered premature. This rising cancer burden is stressing an already overwhelmed healthcare system in many LMICs. For example, pathological diagnosis of biopsies is used to diagnose a majority of cancers; however, only 30% of LMICs reported having pathology services available. Additionally, while excisional surgeries are at the foundation of cancer treatment, 90% of patients in LMICs do not have access to surgery. In struggling healthcare systems, addressing the growing cancer burden may require a new vision – one that leverages low-cost, portable, electricity-independent, and accessible biomedical technologies to improve cancer management in LMICs. Dr. Mueller’s lab is focused on developing accessible biomedical technologies via a human-centered design approach to improve the management of cancer in LMICs. In this talk, Dr. Mueller will describe a combination of innovations that are at different stages in the translational pipeline to transform the management of cancer in LMICs. These innovations include: 1) gel ethanol ablation, an accessible treatment that involves injecting ethanol into a lesion to cause necrosis, and 2) a low-cost, reusable laparoscope for intra-abdominal cancer surgeries performed in LMICs.
Dr. Mueller is an Assistant Professor in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland College Park and in the Department of OB-GYN & Reproductive Science at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She is also a member of the Program in Oncology at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her lab combines optical imaging, image processing, ablative therapies, and human-centered design to develop biomedical devices to solve challenges in global cancer. She received her bachelor’s degree in bioengineering with a minor in global health technologies from Rice University and received both an MS and PhD in biomedical engineering at Duke University for her work developing optical systems and algorithms to improve the accuracy of cancer excision during surgery. Prior to joining the University of Maryland, Dr. Mueller was a Postdoctoral Associate at Duke University where she worked with a multidisciplinary team to develop the Pocket colposcope, a low-cost device to screen women for cervical dysplasia, which is now commercially available. Her work has been supported by a NSF CAREER Award and by the NCI through a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, SBIR phase 1 and phase 2 awards, R21 and U01 subawards, and the NCI-UMD Partnership for Integrative Cancer Research award. She was also recently awarded the SPIE Early Career Achievement Award.
Sila Kurugol, PhD: Advancements in Abdominal MRI: Enhancing Quantitative Imaging with Innovations in Diffusion-Weighted and Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MRI
Sila Kurugol, PhD Assistant Professor of Radiology Director of Quantitative Intelligent Imaging Lab Department of Radiology, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical Abstract The presentation will highlight recent advancements in two key MRI sequences for…
Bingxin Zhao, PhD: Multi-organ Imaging Genomics: New Resources and Findings
Bingxin Zhao, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Statistics and Data Science University of Pennsylvania Abstract Large-scale imaging genetics data are opening new directions for a multi-organ understanding of human health. In this presentation, we will…
Peter Caravan, PhD: The Future of MR Contrast Agents: Molecular MR and Gadolinium-free Contrast
Peter Caravan, PhD Co-Director, Institute for Innovation in Imaging (i3) Department of Radiology Massachusetts General Hospital Professor of Radiology Harvard Medical School Abstract Contrast enhanced MR utilizes small, hydrophilic gadolinium chelates that freely distribute in…
Nadya Shusharina, PhD: Harnessing DW-MRI to Identify Direction of the Microscopic Tumor Spread
Nadya Shusharina, PhD Instructor in Radiation Oncology Massachusetts General Hospital Abstract I will present our ongoing work to develop a microscopic tumor spread model for soft tissue sarcoma (STS) and glioma that is based on pre-treatment…
Lucila Ohno-Machado, MD, MBA, PhD: Data Science to Promote Precision Medicine for All
Lucila Ohno-Machado, MD, MBA, PhD Waldemar von Zedtwitz Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Informatics and Data Science Deputy Dean for Biomedical Informatics, Yale School of Medicine Chair, Section of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science Abstract…
Sanghoon Kim, MD, MSc: BWH 3T MRS 2HG Optimization Progress Report
Sanghoon Kim, MD, MSc Research Fellow (T32) Department of Radiology Brigham and Women’s Hospital Abstract 2HG is the specific biomarker for the IDH mutation in gliomas. To get the correct spectrum analysis, precise basis set…
Susie Y. Huang, MD, PhD: Characterizing Tissue Microstructure in the Living Human Brain Using High-Gradient Diffusion MRI
Susie Huang, MD, PhD Associate Professor, HMS Radiologist, MGH Abstract Less is known about the structure-function relationship in the human brain than in any other organ system. The challenge of studying brain structure is that…
Zhou Lan, PhD: Recent Statistical Methods for Diffusion MRI
Zhou Lan, PhD Instructor in Medicine, HMS Biostatistics Investigator, BWH Abstract Diffusion MRI is a popular imaging technique to investigate the tissue microstructure. The diffusion MRI data has been routinely used for various medical applications.…
Denis Rancourt Peng, MScA, PhD: Self-heating Can Induce Solid Tumor Necrosis
Denis Rancourt Peng, MScA, PhD Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering Sherbrooke University Quebec City, Canada Abstract Solid tumors are complex biological systems that have been barely studied from a biomechanical point of view. Literature suggests that tumors produce significant heat.…
Ali Uneri, PhD: Image-Guided Robotics: Closing the Loop in Surgical Robotics Using Interventional Imaging
Ali Uneri, PhD Research Associate, Department of Biomedical Engineering Co-Director, Carnegie Center for Surgical Innovation Johns Hopkins University Abstract Intraoperative imaging provides in situ, real time information on the progress of the surgery and location of surgical devices. When paired…
Gabor Fichtinger, DrUniv: Point-of-care-ultrasound Guided Therapies and Interventions in the Global Health Context
Gabor Fichtinger, Dr.Univ. Professor and Canada Research Chair in Computer-Integrated Surgery Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada Abstract Point-of-care-ultrasound guided therapies and interventions, shortly POCUS-IGT, enables treatment at the bedside, whether in an urban hospital, rural clinic, or mobile care unit. The potential…
Anthony Samir, MD: An Introduction to AI-GUIDE
Anthony Samir, MD Assistant Professor of Radiology Service Chief, Body Ultrasound MGH, Director, MGH Center for Ultrasound Research & Translation Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Abstract In this talk, Dr. Samir will introduce the concept of combining machine learning algorithms…