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| Jefferson Scientist Receives
Award From The Whitaker Foundation
These grants are designed to help promising new investigators establish research careers. Dr. Shi’s award of $209,600 will enable him to explore the implementation of subharmonic imaging (SHI) and subharmonic-aided pressure estimation (SHAPE) using microbubble-based ultrasound contrast agents. Dr. Shi’s goal is to utilize the SHI method to “see” vascular structures utilizing a “signature” subharmonic signal from contrast microbubbles, which circulate in the bloodstream after an intravenous injection of an ultrasound contrast agent. Based on the observation that bubbles shrink or expand as the overall pressure increases or decreases, SHAPE is being developed as a non-invasive technique to measure blood pressure in heart cavities and major vessels. “Both of these techniques – SHI and SHAPE – offer clinicians invaluable tools for assessing patients with specific vascular diseases so that patients can receive more effective treatment for their conditions in the future,” said Dr. Shi. “We are very optimistic about the potential of SHI and SHAPE, and we are excited about the studies we will be able to conduct with the three-year Whitaker Fund grant.” The Whitaker Foundation of Rosslyn, VA, is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving human health through the support of biomedical engineering. Since its inception in 1975, the Foundation has awarded more than $380 million to colleges and universities for faculty research, graduate fellowships and program development. Visit The Jefferson 2000 Fund website at http://www.tju.edu/jeffgiving/ |
William Tao Shi,
PhD, Assistant Professor of Radiology at Jefferson Medical College (JMC), was one of 39
researchers from 29 universities who recently received Biomedical Engineering Research
Grants from The Whitaker Foundation.