Researcher Awarded 2018 Hitachi Healthcare Americas/RSNA Grant

The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Research & Education (R&E) Foundation awarded the 2018 Hitachi Healthcare Americas/RSNA Research Seed Grant to David Shultz, M.D., Ph.D. This grant is made possible by Hitachi Healthcare Americas’ support of the RSNA R&E Foundation. The Hitachi Healthcare Americas/RSNA Research Seed Grant provides $40,000 for a one-year project to test hypotheses and obtain pilot data in preparation for major grant applications. David Shultz, M.D., Ph.D., Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, with scientific advisor Patrick VeitHaibach, M.D., will use FAZA-PET/MRI to identify hypoxic tumor in patients with localized high-risk sarcoma. Dr. Shultz and his team will also use pimonidazole, a molecular probe for hypoxia, to validate the FAZA results and further characterize the biologic features of hypoxic tumors. The ultimate goal of this work is to determine if hypoxia imaging with PET/MRI improves the management of sarcoma and to evaluate and characterize hypoxic mechanisms on a molecular level within clinical specimens. Through these efforts, they seek to improve the ability to treat patients with high-risk sarcoma. The RSNA R&E Foundation Board of Trustees approved funding for $4 million in radiology research and education grants this year, achieving a funding rate of 35 percent of grant applicants. “The R&E Foundation is grateful for Hitachi Healthcare Americas’ support of the 2018 grant recipients. This longstanding partnership and commitment is a vital component in ensuring research innovation and seeding the future of radiology,” said N. Reed Dunnick, M.D., chair of the R&E Foundation Board of Trustees. 

For more information: www.rsna.org