2011
Keynote Lecture
10th International Symposium on High Field MRI
University of Bonn, Germany

2008
Research award
Society of Uroradiology
Prostate cancer treated with radiation therapy: evaluation of response with advanced MRI techniques

2007
Scholarship Grant
Radiological Society of North America
Perfusion MRI and BOLD MRI for quantification of perfusion and oxygenation in HCC

2004
Research Award
Society of Gastrointestinal Radiologists
Diffusion-weighted MRI for diagnosis of liver fibrosis

Non invasive detection of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis with MRI
MRI is a versatile technique, with no radiation exposure, and the possibility of performing multiparametric imaging. One of the interesting applications of MRI is the non invasive detection of liver damage caused by hepatitis and other insults, usually assessed with liver biopsy. Dr Taouli's experience using diffusion and perfusion MRI showed potential usefulness for detection of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. MR elastography is also an emerging technique that will soon be offered routinely to patients with liver disease at Mount Sinai.

Assessment of liver cancer with advanced MRI methods
Primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma: HCC) can be treated aggressively when diagnosed early, using for example hepatic resection of transplantation. Imaging plays a pivotal role in the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. MRI is especially attractive as it is radiation free and can be easily repeated in patients with liver disease on a regular basis. One of Dr Taouli's research interests is to characterize liver tumors in terms of aggressiveness, angiogenesis and oxygen delivery through the use of advanced MRI methods.

Assessment of prostate cancer with MRI
MRI is the primary modality used for prostate cancer detection and staging. One of Dr Taouli's research interests is the use of multiparametric MRI to better detect and stage prostate cancer, and assess and predict response to radiation therapy.

Chandarana H, Robinson E, Hajdu CH, Drozhinin L, Babb JS, Taouli B. Microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma: is it predictable with pretransplant MRI?. AJR. American journal of roentgenology 2011 May; 196(5).

Chandarana H, Lee VS, Hecht E, Taouli B, Sigmund EE, Taouli B. Comparison of biexponential and monoexponential model of diffusion weighted imaging in evaluation of renal lesions: preliminary experience. Investigative radiology 2011 May; 46(5).

Rosenkrantz AB, Oei M, Babb JS, Niver BE, Taouli B. Diffusion-weighted imaging of the abdomen at 3.0 Tesla: image quality and apparent diffusion coefficient reproducibility compared with 1.5 Tesla. Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2011 Jan; 33(1).

Do RK, Chandarana H, Chandanara H, Felker E, Hajdu CH, Babb JS, Kim D, Taouli B. Diagnosis of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis with diffusion-weighted imaging: value of normalized apparent diffusion coefficient using the spleen as reference organ. AJR. American journal of roentgenology 2010 Sep; 195(3).

Merkle EM, Szklaruk J, Taouli B, Felker E, Hajdu CH, Babb JS, Kim D, Taouli B. Imaging techniques in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic carcinoma as a result of colon cancer. Gastroenterology & hepatology 2010 Aug; 6(8).

Marien T, Taouli B, Telegrafi S, Babb J, Lepor H. Optimizing the detection of subclinical inguinal hernias in men undergoing open radical retropubic prostatectomy. BJU international 2010 Nov; 106(10).

Lim RP, Tuvia K, Hajdu CH, Losada M, Gupta R, Parikh T, Babb JS, Taouli B. Quantification of hepatic iron deposition in patients with liver disease: comparison of chemical shift imaging with single-echo T2*-weighted imaging. AJR. American journal of roentgenology 2010 May; 194(5).

Rosenkrantz AB, Kopec M, Kong X, Melamed J, Dakwar G, Babb JS, Taouli B, Taouli B. Prostate cancer vs. post-biopsy hemorrhage: diagnosis with T2- and diffusion-weighted imaging. Journal of magnetic resonance imaging : JMRI 2010 Jun; 31(6).

Rosenkrantz AB, Neil J, Kong X, Melamed J, Babb JS, Taneja S, Taouli B. Prostate Cancer: Comparison of 3D T2-weighted sequence (SPACE) with conventional 2D T2-weighted imaging for Image Quality and Tumor Detection. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2010; In press.

Chandarana H, Robinson E, Hajdu CH, Drozhinin L, Babb JS, Taouli B, Taouli B. Microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma: is it predictable with pretransplant MRI?. AJR. American journal of roentgenology 2011 May; 196(5).