Yi-fen Yen

Biography

I am an MRI physicist and my expertise is in MRI pulse sequence design and pharmacokinetic modeling. My research focus is on MR quantitation of micro-environment for brain tumor imaging. My work involves optimization of MRI pulse sequences and clinical protocols, development of imaging biomarkers for drug delivery and treatment monitoring, quantitation of cell abnormalities using MR diffusion, perfusion and spectroscopy techniques, and cross-modal comparison of MRI to PET, CT and Optical Imaging.;; My second area of research interest is hyperpolarized 13C metabolic MRI. In the past few years, my work involved the design of new MRSI pulse sequences, polarized 13C-probe development and pharmacokinetic modeling of metabolic conversion. Majority of my hyperpolarized 13C research was conducted pre-clinically, on animal models of prostate cancer, brain tumors, liver cancer, cardiac disorder, renal function, and arthritis. My early research involved the subjective experience of pain using fMRI, BOLD deactivation by cross-modal stimuli, quantitative cerebral blood flow (CBF) and;;cerebral blood volume (CBV) for tumor assessment, caffeine effects on BOLD and CBF, and;;fMRI in stroke and epilepsy patients.;; I am an MRI physicist and my expertise is in MRI pulse sequence design and pharmacokinetic modeling. My research focus is on MR quantitation of micro-environment for brain tumor imaging. My work involves optimization of MRI pulse sequences and clinical protocols, development of imaging biomarkers for drug delivery and treatment monitoring, quantitation of cell abnormalities using MR diffusion, perfusion and spectroscopy techniques, and cross-modal comparison of MRI to PET, CT and Optical Imaging.;; My second area of research interest is hyperpolarized 13C metabolic MRI. In the past few years, my work involved the design of new MRSI pulse sequences, polarized 13C-probe development and pharmacokinetic modeling of metabolic conversion. Majority of my hyperpolarized 13C research was conducted pre-clinically, on animal models of prostate cancer, brain tumors, liver cancer, cardiac disorder, renal function, and arthritis. My early research involved the subjective experience of pain using fMRI, BOLD deactivation by cross-modal stimuli, quantitative cerebral blood flow (CBF) and;;cerebral blood volume (CBV) for tumor assessment, caffeine effects on BOLD and CBF, and;;fMRI in stroke and epilepsy patients.;;

Research Interest

Research interest is hyperpolarized 13C metabolic MRI. In the past few years, my work involved the design of new MRSI pulse sequences, polarized 13C-probe development and pharmacokinetic modeling of metabolic conversion. Majority of my hyperpolarized 13C research was conducted pre-clinically, on animal models of prostate cancer, brain tumors, liver cancer, cardiac disorder, renal function, and arthritis.