Research Summary

Robert Bok, MD, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging and the Hyperpolarized MRI Technology Resource Center at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Bok obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois in 1984, and he earned his MD in Medicine from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore in 1989. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis in 1992, followed by a fellowship in Hematology-Oncology from UCSF in 1996.

At the UCSF Mission Bay Surbeck Laboratory, Dr. Bok provides physician coverage for research on MRI/MRSI scans performed on patients. Dr. Bok’s research activities focuses on the development of better molecular imaging methods for detecting and monitoring prostate cancer. His primary interest is on the use of pre-clinical animal models to improve recent advances in MRSI for prostate cancer. This includes hyperpolarized carbon-13 techniques, high-resolution magic angle spectroscopy, and the use of novel nanoparticles. Dr. Bok and his colleagues are also investigating the use of hyperpolarized 13C-pryuvate in a transgenic mouse model for prostate cancer known as Transgenic Adenocarcinoma of Mouse Prostate (TRAMP).

Dr. Bok is a current member of the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, the CALGB, the Association of Northern California Oncologists, the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and the World Molecular Imaging Society. He has 60 published science articles and he has written 53 peer-reviewed articles and 90 abstracts.

Expertise:
Oncology

Specialty:
Prostate cancer, TRAMP, nanoparticles

Professional Interests:
Prostate cancer, urologic oncology, molecular imaging, hyperpolarized carbon-13 spectroscopy, high-resolution magic-angle spin spectroscopy, transgenic cancer models, extracellular proteases, metastases, molecular biomarkers

Education and Training:
• Medical School: The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore - Medicine
• Internship: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis - Internal Medicine
• Residency: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis - Internal Medicine
• Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco - Hematology-Oncology
• Doctor of Philosophy: University of Illinois, Urbana - Biochemistry
• Medical License, State of California
• ABIM, Board Certification in Internal Medicine
• ABIM, Board Certification in Medical Oncology
• ACLS Certification

Research Funding

  • July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2026 - Hyperpolarized C-13 MRI Techniques to Monitor Radiation Therapy Response in Prostate Cancer Patients , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA238379
  • April 11, 2019 - March 31, 2024 - Hyperpolarized C-13 MRI for Early Detection of Aggressive Prostate Cancer in Active Surveillance Patients , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01CA232320

Education

Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, B.S., 1980, Biology and Chemistry
University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL, Ph.D., 1984, Biochemistry
John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, M.D., 1989, Medicine
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, Residency, 1992, Internal Medicine
University of California, San Francisco, Fellow, 1996, Hematology-Oncology

Honors & Awards

  • Executive Committee Member, UCSF Hyperpolarized MRI Technology Resource Center, 2011
  • Research Award, Prostate Cancer Foundation, 2006
  • Fellowship Award, University of Illinois, Urbana, 1980

Selected Publications

  1. Punwani S, Larson PE, Laustsen C, VanderMeulen J, Ardenkjær-Larsen JH, Autry AW, Bankson JA, Bernard J, Bok R, Bertelsen LB, Che J, Chen AP, Chowdhury R, Comment A, Cunningham CH, Dang D, Gallagher FA, Gaunt A, Gong Y, Gordon JW, Grimmer A, Grist J, Hansen ESS, Lerche MH, Hesketh RL, Hoevener JB, Hsieh CY, Keshari KR, Kozerke S, Lanz T, Mayer D, McLean M, Park JM, Slater J, Tyler D, Vanderheyden JL, von Morze C, Zaccagna F, Zaha V, Xu D, Vigneron D, HP 13C MRI Consensus Group. Consensus Recommendations for Hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate MRI Multi-center Human Studies. ArXiv. 2025 Apr 29.  View on PubMed
  2. Kim Y, Chen HY, Nickles T, Shkliar I, Dang D, Slater J, Wang C, Gordon JW, Tan CT, Suszczynski C, Maddali S, Gaunt A, Chen R, Villanueva-Meyer J, Xu D, Larson PEZ, Kurhanewicz J, Bok RA, Chang S, Vigneron DB. Translation of hyperpolarized [13C,15N2]urea MRI for novel human brain perfusion studies. Npj Imaging. 2025; 3(1):11.  View on PubMed
  3. Autry AW, Kim Y, Dang D, Chen HY, Slater JB, Bok RA, Xu D, Lupo JM, Gordon JW, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, Li Y, Chang SM. Clinical Translation of Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic Probes for Glioma Imaging. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2025 Mar 05.  View on PubMed
  4. Kim Y, Nickles TM, Lee PM, Bok RA, Gordon JW, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, von Morze C, Ohliger MA. A data-driven approach for improved quantification of in vivo metabolic conversion rates of hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate. Magn Reson Med. 2025 Jun; 93(6):2346-2356.  View on PubMed
  5. Ivan de Kouchkovsky, Hao Nguyen, Hsin-Yu Chen, Xiaoxi Liu, Hecong Qin, Bradley A. Stohr, Romelyn Delos Santos, Michael A. Ohliger, Zhen Jane Wang, Robert A. Bok, Jeremy W. Gordon, Peder E.Z. Larson, Mary Frost, Kimberly Okamoto, Daniel Gebrezgiabhier, Matthew Cooperberg, Daniel B. Vigneron, John Kurhanewicz, Rahul Aggarwal. Dual hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate and [13C]urea magnetic resonance imaging of prostate cancer. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Open. 2024 Dec 1; 21:100165.  View on PubMed
  6. Mu C, Liu X, Riselli A, Slater J, Escobar E, Dang D, Drapeau S, Delos Santos R, Andosca S, Nguyen H, Larson PEZ, Bok R, Vigneron DB, Kurhanewicz J, Wilson DM, Flavell RR. Protocol for producing hyperpolarized 13C-bicarbonate for clinical MRI of extracellular pH in aggressive tumors. STAR Protoc. 2024 Sep 20; 5(3):103091.  View on PubMed
  7. Hsin-Yu Chen, Ivan de Kouchkovsky, Robert A. Bok, Michael A. Ohliger, Zhen J. Wang, Daniel Gebrezgiabhier, Tanner Nickles, Lucas E. Carvajal, Jeremy W. Gordon, Peder E.Z. Larson, John Kurhanewicz, Rahul Raj Aggarwal, Daniel B. Vigneron. Correlating survival outcomes in patients with advanced prostate cancer with novel hyperpolarized 13 C MRI metabolic imaging biomarkers. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2024 Jun 1; 42(16_suppl):e15059-e15059.  View on PubMed
  8. Larson PEZ, Bernard JML, Bankson JA, Bøgh N, Bok RA, Chen AP, Cunningham CH, Gordon JW, Hövener JB, Laustsen C, Mayer D, McLean MA, Schilling F, Slater JB, Vanderheyden JL, von Morze C, Vigneron DB, Xu D, HP 13C MRI Consensus Group. Current methods for hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate MRI human studies. Magn Reson Med. 2024 Jun; 91(6):2204-2228.  View on PubMed
  9. Agarwal S, Gordon J, Bok RA, von Morze C, Vigneron DB, Kurhanewicz J, Ohliger MA. Distinguishing metabolic signals of liver tumors from surrounding liver cells using hyperpolarized 13 C MRI and gadoxetate. Magn Reson Med. 2024 May; 91(5):2114-2125.  View on PubMed
  10. Autry AW, Vaziri S, Gordon JW, Chen HY, Kim Y, Dang D, LaFontaine M, Noeske R, Bok R, Villanueva-Meyer JE, Clarke JL, Oberheim Bush NA, Chang SM, Xu D, Lupo JM, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, Li Y. Advanced Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic Imaging Protocol for Patients with Gliomas: A Comprehensive Multimodal MRI Approach. Cancers (Basel). 2024 Jan 13; 16(2).  View on PubMed
  11. Nickles TM, Kim Y, Lee PM, Chen HY, Ohliger M, Bok RA, Wang ZJ, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, Gordon JW. Hyperpolarized 13 C metabolic imaging of the human abdomen with spatiotemporal denoising. Magn Reson Med. 2024 May; 91(5):2153-2161.  View on PubMed
  12. Avantika Sinha, Xiaoxi Liu, Shuyu Tang, Nicholas Dwork, Sanjay Sivalokanathan, Jing Liu, Robert Bok, Karen Ordovas, James Slater, Jeremy Gordon, Roselle Abraham, Peder Larson. Kiosk 7R-TB-07 Quantification of Abnormal Metabolism in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Patients Using Hyperpolarized [1-13c]-pyruvate MRI. Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance. 2024 Jan 1; 26:100838.  View on PubMed
  13. Piraquive Agudelo J, Kim Y, Agarwal S, Sriram R, Bok R, Kurhanewicz J, Mattis AN, Maher JJ, von Morze C, Ohliger MA. Hyperpolarized [1-13 C] pyruvate MRSI to detect metabolic changes in liver in a methionine and choline-deficient diet rat model of fatty liver disease. Magn Reson Med. 2024 Apr; 91(4):1625-1636.  View on PubMed
  14. Larson PEZ, Tang S, Liu X, Sinha A, Dwork N, Sivalokanathan S, Liu J, Bok R, Ordovas KG, Slater J, Gordon JW, Abraham MR. Regional quantification of cardiac metabolism with hyperpolarized [1-13C]-pyruvate CMR evaluated in an oral glucose challenge. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2023 12 14; 25(1):77.  View on PubMed
  15. Chen HY, Gordon JW, Dwork N, Chung BT, Riselli A, Sivalokanathan S, Bok RA, Slater JB, Vigneron DB, Abraham MR, Larson PEZ. Probing human heart TCA cycle metabolism and response to glucose load using hyperpolarized [2-13 C]pyruvate MRS. NMR Biomed. 2024 Mar; 37(3):e5074.  View on PubMed
  16. Gordon JW, Chen HY, Nickles T, Lee PM, Bok R, Ohliger MA, Okamoto K, Ko AH, Larson PEZ, Wang ZJ. Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic MRI of Patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2024 Aug; 60(2):741-749.  View on PubMed
  17. Liu X, Cui D, Xu D, Bok R, Wang ZJ, Vigneron DB, Larson PEZ, Gordon JW. Dynamic T2* relaxometry of hyperpolarized [1-13 C]pyruvate MRI in the human brain and kidneys. Magn Reson Med. 2024 Mar; 91(3):1030-1042.  View on PubMed
  18. Larson PE, Bernard JM, Bankson JA, Bøgh N, Bok RA, Chen AP, Cunningham CH, Gordon J, Hövener JB, Laustsen C, Mayer D, McLean MA, Schilling F, Slater J, Vanderheyden JL, von Morze C, Vigneron DB, Xu D, HP 13C MRI Consensus Group. Current Methods for Hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate MRI Human Studies. ArXiv. 2023 Nov 22.  View on PubMed
  19. Mu C, Liu X, Kim Y, Riselli A, Korenchan DE, Bok RA, Delos Santos R, Sriram R, Qin H, Nguyen H, Gordon JW, Slater J, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, Kurhanewicz J, Wilson DM, Flavell RR. Clinically Translatable Hyperpolarized 13C Bicarbonate pH Imaging Method for Use in Prostate Cancer. ACS Sens. 2023 11 24; 8(11):4042-4054.  View on PubMed
  20. Chen HY, Gordon JW, Dwork N, Chung BT, Riselli A, Sivalokanathan S, Bok RA, Slater JB, Vigneron DB, Abraham MR, Larson PEZ. Probing Human Heart TCA Cycle Metabolism and Response to Glucose Load using Hyperpolarized [2-13C]Pyruvate MR Spectroscopy. medRxiv. 2023 Oct 19.  View on PubMed

Go to UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI