Research Summary

Daniel B. Vigneron, PhD, is a Professor in the Departments of Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences and Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He is also Director of the Advanced Imaging Technologies Specialized Resource Group, the UCSF Research Resource Programs’s (RRP) Human Imaging Core Services recharge and,the P41 NIH/NBIBI Hyperpolarized MRI Technology Resource Center. He is also the Operations Director of the Surbeck Laboratory for Advanced Imaging, Chair of the Radiology Research Safety & Compliance Committee, and a core member of the UCB/UCSF Graduate Group in Bioengineering at UCSF. Dr. Vigneron’s professional activities aims on the advancement of biomedical MRI research.

Dr. Vigneron’s research focuses on the development of advanced functional and metabolic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques for both basic research and clinical assessments of human diseases. This requires the development of new hardware/software and MR protocols to provide biochemical information in addition to the anatomic information provided by clinical MRI. This research has been reported in over 330 publications resulting in over 33,000 citations and has been funded by 20+ NIH grant awards as PI and 6 NIH awards as the primary Mentor.

Dr. Vigneron’s research was initially focused on developing 3D MR spectroscopic imaging for the non-invasive assessment of brain tumor metabolism. Another major research interest of Dr. Vigneron’s is the characterization of prostate cancer using novel MR metabolic imaging techniques. Developing specialized acquisitions techniques for prostate cancer MRSI has been a major project for Dr. Vigneron and his group. These techniques have now been used in over 8000 research and clinical studies at UCSF. He also has led technical development aspects for the UCSF Hyperpolarized (HP) Carbon-13 MR molecular imaging program and is the PI for 6 projects including NIH P41 center grant, 2 RO1's, a P01, and a Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP U01) focused on this new stable isotope molecular MR imaging approach. This exciting new technology detects not only the uptake of the HP molecule but also its metabolism in vivo.

Dr. Vigneron obtained his BA in Chemistry from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut in 1983, and he received his PhD in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from UCSF in 1988 for his graduate work on applying new MRI techniques for characterizing disease and therapy response. In 1990, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia and in 1991 he completed a postdoctoral fellowship from UCSF.

Expertise:
Radiology and Biomedical Imaging

Specialty:
MRI, hyperpolarized MRI techniques, brain tumor, prostate cancer

Professional Interests:
Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Molecular Imaging, Metabolic Imaging, Diffusion tensor imaging, Oncologic Imaging, Prostate Cancer Imaging, Pediatric Imaging, Radiology.

Education and Training:
• Bachelor of Arts: Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut - Chemistry, Pre-Med Studies
• Doctor of Philosophy: University of California, San Francisco - Pharmaceutical Chemistry
• Research Fellow: Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia
• Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar: University of California, San Francisco - Department of Radiology

Research Funding

  • July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2026 - Hyperpolarized C-13 MRI Techniques to Monitor Radiation Therapy Response in Prostate Cancer Patients , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA238379
  • December 1, 2020 - November 30, 2025 - Measuring Metabolic Activity in Prostate Cancer Bone Metastases Using Hyperpolarized 13C Pyruvate MRI for Improved Targeted Therapy Monitoring , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA256740
  • December 1, 2005 - July 31, 2024 - Noninvasive Metabolic Signatures to Improve Management of Molecular Subtypes of Glioma , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P01CA118816
  • April 11, 2019 - March 31, 2024 - Hyperpolarized C-13 MRI for Early Detection of Aggressive Prostate Cancer in Active Surveillance Patients , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01CA232320

Education

Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, BA, 1983, Chemistry/Pre-Med
University of California San Francisco, CA, PhD, 1988, Pharm. Chemistry
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, 1990, Research Fellow
UCSF Dept. of Radiology, 1991, Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar

Honors & Awards

  • 1983
    Wesleyan University – Hawk Prize for Most Effective Work in Biochemistry
  • 1990
    NCI/NIH National Research Service Award
  • 1998-2000
    CaP Cure Foundation – Prostate Cancer Research Award
  • 2001
    American Society of Neuroradiology – Outstanding Presentation Award in Pediatric Neuroradiology
  • 2007
    American Society of Neuroradiology – Outstanding Presentation Award
  • 2007
    Elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
  • 2009
    International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine – Fellowship Award
  • 2011
    International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine – Distinguished Service Award
  • 2013
    Academy of Radiology Research – Distinguished Investigator Award
  • 2014
    World Molecular Imaging Society – Gold Medal Award

Selected Publications

  1. Liu X, Tang S, Mu C, Qin H, Cui D, Lai YC, Riselli AM, Delos Santos R, Carvajal L, Gebrezgiabhier D, Bok RA, Chen HY, Flavell RR, Gordon JW, Vigneron DB, Kurhanewicz J, Larson PEZ. Development of specialized magnetic resonance acquisition techniques for human hyperpolarized [13 C,15 N2 ]urea + [1-13 C]pyruvate simultaneous perfusion and metabolic imaging. Magn Reson Med. 2022 May 08.  View on PubMed
  2. Lee PM, Chen HY, Gordon JW, Wang ZJ, Bok R, Hashoian R, Kim Y, Liu X, Nickles T, Cheung K, Alas FL, Daniel H, Larson PEZ, von Morze C, Vigneron DB, Ohliger MA. Whole-Abdomen Metabolic Imaging of Healthy Volunteers Using Hyperpolarized [1-13 C]pyruvate MRI. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2022 Apr 14.  View on PubMed
  3. Bøgh N, Gordon JW, Hansen ESS, Bok RA, Blicher JU, Hu JY, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, Laustsen C. Initial Experience on Hyperpolarized [1-13C]Pyruvate MRI Multicenter Reproducibility-Are Multicenter Trials Feasible? Tomography. 2022 03 01; 8(2):585-595.  View on PubMed
  4. de Kouchkovsky I, Chen HY, Ohliger MA, Wang ZJ, Bok RA, Gordon JW, Larson PEZ, Frost M, Okamoto K, Cooperberg MR, Kurhanewicz J, Vigneron DB, Aggarwal R. Hyperpolarized 1-[13C]-Pyruvate Magnetic Resonance Imaging Detects an Early Metabolic Response to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy in Prostate Cancer. Eur Urol. 2022 02; 81(2):219-221.  View on PubMed
  5. Geng H, Tsang M, Subbaraj L, Cleveland J, Chen L, Lu M, Sharma J, Vigneron DB, Kurhanewicz J, LaFontaine M, Luks T, Barshop BA, Gangoiti J, Villanueva-Meyer JE, Rubenstein JL. Tumor metabolism and neurocognition in CNS lymphoma. Neuro Oncol. 2021 10 01; 23(10):1668-1679.  View on PubMed
  6. Li Y, Vigneron DB, Xu D. Current human brain applications and challenges of dynamic hyperpolarized carbon-13 labeled pyruvate MR metabolic imaging. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2021 12; 48(13):4225-4235.  View on PubMed
  7. Qin H, Tang S, Riselli AM, Bok RA, Delos Santos R, van Criekinge M, Gordon JW, Aggarwal R, Chen R, Goddard G, Zhang CT, Chen A, Reed G, Ruscitto DM, Slater J, Sriram R, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, Kurhanewicz J. Clinical translation of hyperpolarized 13 C pyruvate and urea MRI for simultaneous metabolic and perfusion imaging. Magn Reson Med. 2022 01; 87(1):138-149.  View on PubMed
  8. Lee PM, Chen HY, Gordon JW, Zhu Z, Larson PEZ, Dwork N, Van Criekinge M, Carvajal L, Ohliger MA, Wang ZJ, Xu D, Kurhanewicz J, Bok RA, Aggarwal R, Munster PN, Vigneron DB. Specialized computational methods for denoising, B1 correction, and kinetic modeling in hyperpolarized 13 C MR EPSI studies of liver tumors. Magn Reson Med. 2021 11; 86(5):2402-2411.  View on PubMed
  9. Kim Y, Chen HY, Autry AW, Villanueva-Meyer J, Chang SM, Li Y, Larson PEZ, Brender JR, Krishna MC, Xu D, Vigneron DB, Gordon JW. Denoising of hyperpolarized 13 C MR images of the human brain using patch-based higher-order singular value decomposition. Magn Reson Med. 2021 11; 86(5):2497-2511.  View on PubMed
  10. Lv X, Walton JH, Druga E, Wang F, Aguilar A, McKnelly T, Nazaryan R, Liu FL, Wu L, Shenderova O, Vigneron DB, Meriles CA, Reimer JA, Pines A, Ajoy A. Background-free dual-mode optical and 13C magnetic resonance imaging in diamond particles. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 05 25; 118(21).  View on PubMed
  11. Bøgh N, Olin RB, Hansen ES, Gordon JW, Bech SK, Bertelsen LB, Sánchez-Heredia JD, Blicher JU, Østergaard L, Ardenkjær-Larsen JH, Bok RA, Vigneron DB, Laustsen C. Metabolic MRI with hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate separates benign oligemia from infarcting penumbra in porcine stroke. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2021 11; 41(11):2916-2927.  View on PubMed
  12. Tang S, Meng MV, Slater JB, Gordon JW, Vigneron DB, Stohr BA, Larson PEZ, Wang ZJ. Metabolic imaging with hyperpolarized 13 C pyruvate magnetic resonance imaging in patients with renal tumors-Initial experience. Cancer. 2021 08 01; 127(15):2693-2704.  View on PubMed
  13. Sun J, Bok RA, DeLos Santos J, Upadhyay D, DeLos Santos R, Agarwal S, Van Criekinge M, Vigneron DB, Aggarwal R, Peehl DM, Kurhanewicz J, Sriram R. Resistance to Androgen Deprivation Leads to Altered Metabolism in Human and Murine Prostate Cancer Cell and Tumor Models. Metabolites. 2021 Feb 26; 11(3).  View on PubMed
  14. Autry AW, Park I, Kline C, Chen HY, Gordon JW, Raber S, Hoffman C, Kim Y, Okamoto K, Vigneron DB, Lupo JM, Prados M, Li Y, Xu D, Mueller S. Pilot Study of Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic Imaging in Pediatric Patients with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma and Other CNS Cancers. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2021 01; 42(1):178-184.  View on PubMed
  15. Walker CM, Gordon JW, Xu Z, Michel KA, Li L, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, Bankson JA. Slice profile effects on quantitative analysis of hyperpolarized pyruvate. NMR Biomed. 2020 10; 33(10):e4373.  View on PubMed
  16. Ohliger MA, Gordon JW, Carvajal L, Larson PEZ, Ou JJ, Agarwal S, Zhu Z, Vigneron DB, von Morze C. 55 Mn-based fiducial markers for rapid and automated RF coil localization for hyperpolarized 13 C MRI. Magn Reson Med. 2021 01; 85(1):518-530.  View on PubMed
  17. Gordon JW, Autry AW, Tang S, Graham JY, Bok RA, Zhu X, Villanueva-Meyer JE, Li Y, Ohilger MA, Abraham MR, Xu D, Vigneron DB, Larson PEZ. A variable resolution approach for improved acquisition of hyperpolarized 13 C metabolic MRI. Magn Reson Med. 2020 12; 84(6):2943-2952.  View on PubMed
  18. Autry AW, Gordon JW, Chen HY, LaFontaine M, Bok R, Van Criekinge M, Slater JB, Carvajal L, Villanueva-Meyer JE, Chang SM, Clarke JL, Lupo JM, Xu D, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, Li Y. Characterization of serial hyperpolarized 13C metabolic imaging in patients with glioma. Neuroimage Clin. 2020; 27:102323.  View on PubMed
  19. Chen HY, Autry AW, Brender JR, Kishimoto S, Krishna MC, Vareth M, Bok RA, Reed GD, Carvajal L, Gordon JW, van Criekinge M, Korenchan DE, Chen AP, Xu D, Li Y, Chang SM, Kurhanewicz J, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB. Tensor image enhancement and optimal multichannel receiver combination analyses for human hyperpolarized 13 C MRSI. Magn Reson Med. 2020 12; 84(6):3351-3365.  View on PubMed
  20. Qin H, Zhang V, Bok RA, Santos RD, Cunha JA, Hsu IC, Santos Bs JD, Lee JE, Sukumar S, Larson PEZ, Vigneron DB, Wilson DM, Sriram R, Kurhanewicz J. Simultaneous Metabolic and Perfusion Imaging Using Hyperpolarized 13C MRI Can Evaluate Early and Dose-Dependent Response to Radiation Therapy in a Prostate Cancer Mouse Model. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2020 08 01; 107(5):887-896.  View on PubMed

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