Robert J. Gropler, MD

Robert J. Gropler, MD, is senior vice chair and division director of radiological sciences for Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR). Also a professor of radiology, Gropler has been involved in PET-related research of the cardiovascular system for more than 30 years. A major focus of his work has been the development and validation of new PET quantitative tools to measure myocardial intermediary metabolism in normal and abnormal cardiac states. More recent efforts have involved the translation and application of novel PET radiotracers to measure cardiovascular inflammation and oxidative stress

In addition to his role as editor-in-chief of Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, Gropler serves as director for MIR's PET Radiotracer Translation and Resource Center (PET-RTRC), an NIBIB-supported P41 program. The PET-RTRC focuses on the design, development, training and dissemination of radiotracers that detect cellular inflammation throughout the US and now internationally. Gropler is also the North American coordinator for the Leducq Foundation-funded network called "The Inflammatory-Fibrosis Axis in Adverse Cardiac Remodeling: translating mechanisms into new diagnostics and therapeutics (IMMUNO-FIB HF),” part of the foundation's Transatlantic Networks of Excellence. The research network studies the nexus between myocardial inflammation and fibrosis.