Mission

We develop and translate novel magnetic resonance imaging approaches to study physiological properties using the chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) and other techniques. CEST MRI technique enables one to detect low concentration agents that have exchangeable protons with higher signal sensitivity by exploiting their exchange with water protons. Current projects in Dr. Xu’s lab involves development of new techniques to improve CEST imaging in terms of speed, sensitivity and motion robustness and translating these techniques to human imaging applications. Several current translational efforts are focused on using the CEST effect of glucose to study blood brain barrier functions in multiple sclerosis, brain tumors and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Volunteering for a Research Study

To make progress in medical imaging research, we need to study the pathology of a disease, and compare the changes in structure and function with the normal physiology. If you are interested in joining a research study, please contact Dr. Xiang Xu. Currently we are enrolling volunteers that are healthy, have multiple sclerosis or suffer from long-COVID. By participating in a research study, you will be making a great contribution to the understanding of disease mechanisms and developing imaging biomarkers. Thank you!