Imaging Science Takes Center Stage at Annual MIR Research Symposium

Connecting health science to health care is a cornerstone of WashU Medicine Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR); each year, those committed to this mission share their latest imaging science work and innovations at the annual Research Symposium.

Department and symposium leadership — Robert J. Gropler, MD, senior vice chair and division director of radiological sciences, MIR Director Pamela Woodard, MD, and Daniel Castro, PhD, chair of the symposium committee — delivered opening remarks to attendees, highlighting the department’s continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of science.

Paul J. Chang, MD, professor of radiology and vice chair of radiology informatics at University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, presented the keynote lecture titled “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Radiology: A Reality Check.”

Several faculty members from MIR and WashU Medicine followed with supplementary lectures on a variety of topics:

• Janine D. Bijsterbosch, PhD, associate professor of radiology: “Does it Matter How We Represent the Resting State?”
• M. Catalina Camacho, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry: “Naturalistic Emotion Processing in the Brain”
• Ganesh B. Chand, PhD, assistant professor of radiology: “Big Data Neuroimaging Analytics in Neuropsychiatric and Neurological Disorders”
• Heather V. Garrett, MD, associate professor of radiology: “Cryoablation in Breast Cancer Care: Evidence, Ongoing Trials and Future Directions”
• Christopher D. Malone, MD, associate professor of radiology:” The Interface of Tumor Biology with Advancements in Image-Guided Oncologic Therapies”
• Cornelius von Morze, PhD, assistant professor of radiology: “MR Molecular Imaging of Steatohepatitis”

Three trainees — Adrian A. Sanchez, MD, PhD (T32 TOP-TIER); Dingyue (Doris) Zhang, PhD (Imaging Sciences Pathway); and Elizabeth A. Kras, PhD (T32 TIRS) — also presented their work in a series of lightning round lectures.

The event wrapped up with a poster session featuring work from investigators and trainees across the university. New this year was the MIR Research Symposium Ter-Pogossian Best Poster Award, which recognizes the best poster as judged by 10 research faculty members representing all five MIR research centers. Cristina Simó Costa, PhD, a postdoc in the Ribeiro Pereira Disease Imaging and Therapy Lab, received the inaugural award with their poster “Pancreatic Cancer Imaging Using an Antibody Click Approach.”