Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer Imaging

Michael T. McMahon, Ph.D, is an Associate Professor of Radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a Research Scientist in the F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Dr. McMahon earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1999 and was awarded a fellowship to continue his training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before taking a Research Associate position with Peter van Zijl in 2003. His research at Johns Hopkins University and Kennedy Krieger Institute is focused on the development of diaCEST contrast agents for medical applications and imaging schemes to maximize their potential. Dr. McMahon has been elected to the position of Program Director for the Cellular and Molecular Imaging Study Group at the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM) and together with Drs. Gilad, Bulte and van Zijl organized the third CEST imaging workshop (OctoberCEST) in Annapolis, MD. Dr. Jeff W.M. Bulte, Ph.D, is a Professor of Radiology in the Division of MR Research, with joint appointments in Oncology, Biomedical Engineering, and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. He serves as the Director of the Cellular Imaging Section in the Institute for Cell Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 1991, Dr. Bulte obtained his Ph.D. summa cum laude from the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. He then spent 10 years in the Laboratory of Diagnostic Radiology Research at the National Institutes of Health before moving to Johns Hopkins University in 2001. He has won several awards, including an ISMRM Gold Medal and the Torsten Almén Award for Pioneering Research in Contrast Media. Assaf A. Gilad, Ph.D, is an Associate Professor of Radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Institute for Cell Engineering. After obtaining his Ph.D. from the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel in 2003, he received his postdoctoral training under the supervision of Drs. Jeff Bulte and Peter van Zijl at Johns Hopkins University. In 2007 he joined the Radiology department as junior faculty and has continued to develop new genetically encoded technologies for cellular and sub-cellular molecular CEST imaging. Peter C.M. van Zijl, Ph.D., is a Professor of Radiology in the Division of MR Research of the Department of Radiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the founding Director of the F.M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging at Kennedy Krieger Research Insitute. Dr. van Zijl received his Ph.D. in mathematics and physics (Physical Chemistry) from the Free University, Amsterdam in 1985. He did fellowships in Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University (1985-87) and in vivo spectroscopy (National Cancer Institute, NIH from 1987–1990) and was Assistant Professor at Georgetown University from 1990–1992. He moved to Johns Hopkins University in 1992. Dr. van Zijl is a Fellow of both the ISMRM and the ISMAR. He received the Gold medal of the ISMRM in 2007 for contributions in MR spectroscopy, diffusion imaging, and functional MRI. He is a distinguished Investigator of the Academy of Radiology Research (2012) and in 2016, together with Robert Balaban, received the Laukien Prize for his contributions to developing the CEST field.

On the discovery of the "saturation transfer" method. Development of Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST). History of in vivo Exchange Transfer spectroscopy and imaging at Johns Hopkins University and Kennedy Krieger Institute. Early discover and investigations of paraCEST agents in Dallas. The birth of CEST agents in Torino. General theory of CEST image acquisition and post-processing. Uniform-MT- method to separate CEST contrast from MT effects. hyperCEST imaging. The current landscape of diaCEST imaging agents. The evolution of genetically encoded CEST MRI reporters: opportunities and challenges. paraCEST agents: design, discovery and implementation. Transition metal paraCEST probes: alternatives to lanthanides. Responsive paraCEST MRI contrast agents and their biomedical applications. Saturating compartmentalized water protons: Liposome- and Cell-based CEST agents. Principles and applications of Amide Proton Transfer (APT) imaging. Cartilage and intravertebral disc imaging and the Glycosaminoglycan Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (gagCEST) experiment. glucoCEST: imaging glucose in tumors. Creatine Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer imaging. Iodinated contrast media as pH responsive CEST agents.