Mitchell S. Albert

Biography

Dr. Albert is a Research Chair at the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute and Lakehead University. He is Director of MRI Research, Director of the Hyperpolarized Gas MRI Laboratory, a Scientist at TBRRI, and Professor of Chemistry at Lakehead University. Prior to this he was Associate Professor of Radiology at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Albert is one of the inventors and pioneers of hyperpolarized gas MRI, and holds 9 patents on its development. He received the United States Presidential Award from President Clinton for this invention and received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Research Interest

Dr. Albert's primary research focus is on applying HP helium-3 and HP xenon-129 MRI to image ventilation function in the airways and alveoli of the lungs. In addition, his group has been developing the following innovative imaging technologies: (1) HP xenon-129 functional MRI (xenon fMRI) of the brain; (2) HP xenon fMRI of stroke and traumatic brain injury; (3) HP xenon biosensor MR imaging of breast tumours; (4) HP xenon biosensor MRI for early detection of lung cancer; and (5) HP xenon biosensor MRI for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.