Adam Autry, PhD
Specialist
[email protected]
After obtaining his PhD in Bioengineering from the Joint Graduate Program at UC Berkeley/UCSF, under the mentorship of Sarah J Nelson, Dr. Autry joined the Li Lab to continue research characterizing molecular markers of malignant brain tumors. His current work focuses on real-time imaging of in vivo metabolism in adults with infiltrating gliomas using the technique of hyperpolarized carbon-13 (HP-13C) MRI, which probes glycolytic and oxidative phosphorylation pathways by means of injectable tracers whose magnetization has been transiently enhanced via specialized instrumentation. As part of this effort, he has pursued optimizing HP-13C data acquisition methods involving atlas-based prescriptions for serial imaging studies and investigated features of aberrant metabolism in progressive glioma based on the modeling of [1-13C] pyruvate kinetics.
Sana Vaziri, PhD
Research Data Analyst
[email protected]
Dr. Vaziri is interested in developing advanced processing methods for metabolic imaging (proton MR spectroscopy and hyperpolarized carbon-13) and analyzing multimodal imaging data to improve the evaluation of patients with glioma. She also works on developing AI-based methods to process and analyze MR spectroscopic data.
Marisa Lafontaine, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator
[email protected]
Marisa works on consenting patients, acquiring advanced imaging data for research studies and clinical trials, data transfer, post-processing, and analyzing MR data. Marisa works on consenting patients, acquiring advanced imaging data for research studies and clinical trials, data transfer, post-processing, and analyzing MR data.
Wendy Ma, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator
[email protected]
Wendy prepares and organizes documentation and files pertaining to the research projects, consents patients, and coordinates patient scans in Dr. Li’s lab.
Maria Baida, MD, MS
Staff Research Assistant
[email protected]
Maria completed her MS in Biomedical Imaging at UCSF and then joined Dr. Li’s lab. Her current research is focused on processing and analyzing MR data from individuals with ASD.
Xin Mu, MD, MS
Staff Research Assistant
[email protected]
Dr. Mu focuses on recruiting and consenting patients for hyperpolarized carbon-13 MRI studies and imaging data analysis.
Xiaonan (April) Xing, BS
Graduate Student Researcher
[email protected]
April received her double bachelor's degrees in Bioengineering and Neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She is currently a Bioengineering PhD student in the Joint Graduate Program at UC Berkeley/UCSF, and works on MR spectroscopy in neurological disorders and hyperpolarized carbon-13 MRI in patients with brain tumors.
Lina Cheung, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator
[email protected]
Lina received her BS in Public Health at the University of California, Irvine, and now works in Dr. Li’s lab recruiting and consenting patients, organizing research project files, and scheduling MR scans.
Ernesto Diaz, BS
Assistant Specialist
[email protected]
Ernesto graduated from San Francisco State University(SFSU) with a degree in Computer Science. He has developed Python applications for MRI data analysis and deep learning models for cancer detection.
Ernesto works in both Dr. Li's and Dr. Larson's labs, focusing on developing scripts for data processing and analysis.
Tracy Luks, PhD
Specialist
[email protected]
The primary focus of Dr. Luks's current research program is to use advanced neuroimaging to advance our ability to optimize treatment for patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders by predicting and monitoring disease progression, treatment response, cognitive function, and quality of life (QoL) in these patients. In subjects with psychiatric disorders, the goal of the research is to understand the biological mechanisms of impairment and guide and evaluate behavioral and pharmacological interventions with functional neuroimaging. This translational research program employs structural imaging and connectivity (anatomical MRI and DTI), functional neuroimaging and connectivity (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and measures of neurocognitive and neurological status. Dr. Luks has conducted MRI, fMRI, and magnetoencephalography (MEG) studies of the neurobiological bases of cognitive functions in health control subjects, in patients with Depression, Autism, Glioma, Schizophrenia, Dementia, TBI, and in normal adolescents and aging.
Yiqi (Leo) Liu, BS
Staff Research Associate
[email protected]
Leo Liu received a degree in Biomedical Engineering and Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis and now works in the lab conducting research on MRSI and helping with operating scans. He has a background in MR neuroimage processing and analysis.
