Santyr, Giles

Biography

I pursued undergraduate studies in Physics at Queen’s University in Kingston and received my PhD in Medical Biophysics from the University of Toronto in 1990. I went on to work as a Research Associate and Assistant Scientist at the University of Wisconsin where I earned a National Cancer Institute FIRST award. Moving to Carleton University in Ottawa in 1995, I helped establish the Ottawa Medical Physics Institute and pioneered hyperpolarized xenon-129 for lung MRI in rodents. In 2004, I joined the Robarts Research Institute (RRI) where I held a CIHR Industry-Partnered Chair award for Respiratory Imaging as the Director of the Robarts GE 3T MRI Facility. The RRI team produced the first xenon-129 human lung images in Canada and the first carbon-13 lung images in the world. In 2013, I joined the Hospital for Sick Children as a Senior Scientist where I am focusing on MRI approaches to study the lungs of children and young adults. My current research current research involves hyperpolarized xenon-129 and proton MRI of anatomical and functional lung tissue and cellular biomarkers, specifically: airway and lung parenchymal morphology, ventilation, perfusion, gas exchange and inflammatory cell trafficking in lung diseases afflicting children and animal models of these diseases. This research currently involves collaborations with other scientists at SickKids, and the University of Toronto, including the Physiology & Experimental Medicine program, Critical Care Medicine, Respirology, Diagnostic Imaging and Medical Biophysics as well as industrial partnerships. I pursued undergraduate studies in Physics at Queen’s University in Kingston and received my PhD in Medical Biophysics from the University of Toronto in 1990. I went on to work as a Research Associate and Assistant Scientist at the University of Wisconsin where I earned a National Cancer Institute FIRST award. Moving to Carleton University in Ottawa in 1995, I helped establish the Ottawa Medical Physics Institute and pioneered hyperpolarized xenon-129 for lung MRI in rodents. In 2004, I joined the Robarts Research Institute (RRI) where I held a CIHR Industry-Partnered Chair award for Respiratory Imaging as the Director of the Robarts GE 3T MRI Facility. The RRI team produced the first xenon-129 human lung images in Canada and the first carbon-13 lung images in the world. In 2013, I joined the Hospital for Sick Children as a Senior Scientist where I am focusing on MRI approaches to study the lungs of children and young adults. My current research current research involves hyperpolarized xenon-129 and proton MRI of anatomical and functional lung tissue and cellular biomarkers, specifically: airway and lung parenchymal morphology, ventilation, perfusion, gas exchange and inflammatory cell trafficking in lung diseases afflicting children and animal models of these diseases. This research currently involves collaborations with other scientists at SickKids, and the University of Toronto, including the Physiology & Experimental Medicine program, Critical Care Medicine, Respirology, Diagnostic Imaging and Medical Biophysics as well as industrial partnerships.

Research Interest

Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Cancer – clinical and pre-clinical applicationsl; Cardiovascular, Pulmonary Disorders; Imaging of Development and Pediatric Disorders