Research
The Cancer Neuroimaging Research Program advances neuroimaging science to better understand cancer and its effects on the nervous system and to translate innovations into patient care. The program brings together imaging scientists, engineers, clinician, and data experts from across UT MD Anderson to develop imaging approaches that go beyond conventional clinical methods. By integrating advanced imaging technologies with biological insight and computational analysis, the program addresses critical questions about tumor behavior, treatment effects and disease progression.
Using state-of-the-art neuroimaging technologies combined with data-driven analytics, Cancer Neuroimaging Research Program investigators create quantitative imaging tools that improve diagnosis, guide treatment decisions, enable earlier assessment of how patients are responding to therapy and reveal the impact of cancer therapies on the nervous system. Ultimately, this work supports more precise and personalized cancer care by enabling patient-specific therapeutic strategies that optimize tumor control, preserve brain health and improve quality of life for people with cancer.
Our research spans four interconnected areas that drive discovery and translation:
- Innovation drives next generation neuroimaging technologies including acquisition and image reconstruction techniques, molecular and metabolic imaging agents and image-based biomarkers.
- Intelligence harnesses data science and computational strategies that transform imaging data into clinically actionable decision tools.
- Intervention establishes new image-guided therapies for patients with cancer, prediction and/or detection of regional drug delivery within the brain and image-based strategies for early detection of therapeutic response.
- Insights leverages advanced neuroimaging technologies (preclinical or human) to investigate brain cancer biology, effects of cancer and therapies on the central nervous system (behavior, cognition and structure) and drug discovery.
Through these efforts, the program seeks to elevate the role of neuroimaging in cancer care ¡ª enhancing how we understand disease, improving the lives of patients and accelerating the path from scientific discovery to clinical impact.
Research Themes
Innovation
The Innovation theme is focused on the development of new imaging technologies and biomarkers that reveal the structure, function and biology of the nervous system in the context of cancer and its treatment. By uniting expertise in physics, chemistry and engineering, Cancer Neuroimaging Research Program investigators are designing novel molecular and metabolic imaging agents, advanced MRI acquisition and reconstruction techniques and cell imaging strategies. These innovations aim to establish a foundation for precision diagnostics and image-guided therapeutic strategies that directly inform clinical decision making.
Ongoing Projects
- Advanced Multi-contrast and Multi-scale MRI Pulse Sequences for Quantitative Neuroimaging
- Supported by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
- Investigator: (PI)
- Comprehensive Assessment of Cancer Theranostics Response
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Investigators: Paul Corn (MPI), Timothy Perk (MPI), Scott Tagawa (MPI), (Co-I)
- Development of a Targeted PET Tracer for Detection of Invasive Glioma Cells
- Supported by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
- Investigators: (PI), (Co-I), (Co-I)
- Establishing 2-Hydroxyglutarate as a Biomarker in IDH-Mutant Gliomas via Multimodal Non-Invasive Method
- Supported by an Institutional Research Grant
- Investigators: Nazanin Majd, M.D., Ph.D. (PI), (Co-I)
- Establishing the Clinical Utility of a Consensus DSC-MRI Protocol
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Investigators: Jerrold Boxerman (MPI), Leland Hu (MPI), (MPI), Kathleen Schmainda (MPI)
- Establishing the Validity of Brain Tumor Perfusion Imaging
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Investigator: (PI)
- MRI of Aquaporin Activity as a Marker of Glymphatic Function in Glioma Patients Before and After Surgery
- Supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
- Investigators: (Sub MPI), (Sub Co-I)
- Multi-parametric Perfusion MRI for Therapy Response Assessment in Brain Cancer
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Investigators: Ashley Stokes (PI), (Co-I)
- One-Shot Morphologic, Hemodynamic, and Metabolic MR Imaging of Brain Tumors
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Investigators: Vikram Kodibagkar (MPI), (MPI)
- PET Imaging of Neuroinflammation and Blood Brain Barrier Dysfunction Associated With Brain Tumors and Cancer Therapies
- Supported by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
- Investigator: (PI)
Intelligence
The Intelligence theme harnesses data science and mathematical modeling to transform complex neuroimaging data into clinically meaningful insights. By integrating imaging biomarkers with physiological modeling, molecular data and advanced computational frameworks, Cancer Neuroimaging Research Program investigators are building predictive tools that capture tumor dynamics, treatment response and neurocognitive outcomes. These efforts are establishing a data-driven foundation for discovery, collaboration and continuous learning across the neuroimaging ecosystem.
Ongoing Projects
- A Comprehensive Clinical fMRI Software Solution To Enable Mapping of Critical Functional Networks and Cerebrovascular Reactivity in the Brain
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Investigators: (PI), (Co-I)
- Advancing Connectomics-Based Prediction of Postoperative Neurocognitive Outcome in Patients With Eloquent Glioma
- Supported by an Institutional Research Grant
- Investigators: Kyle Noll (PI), (Co-I), (Co-I)
- Connectivity-Based MRI for Early Detection of Glioma Invasion
- Supported by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
- Investigator: (PI)
- Deep Learning-Enabled Susceptibility Contrast Enhanced MRI for Intravoxel Vessel and Cellular Architecture Mapping
- Supported by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
- Investigator: (PI)
- Early Prediction of Glioblastoma and Brain Metastasis Progression Using Multi-Parametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Deep Learning
- Supported by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
- Investigator: (PI)
- Evaluating the Utility of 3D Machine-Learning Based Volumetric Segmentation for the Assessment of Intracranial Metastatic Disease Treatment Response
- Supported by the Andrew M. McDougall Brain Metastasis Clinic and Research Program
- Investigator: (PI)
- Imaging-Based Tumor Forecasting to Predict Brain Tumor Progression and Response to Therapy
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Investigators: (MPI), Thomas Yankeelov (MPI)
- Reproducible Neuroimaging Analytics and Knowledge Integration for Neuro-Oncology Research
- Supported by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
- Investigator: (PI)
- Statistical Modeling of Alzheimer¡¯s Disease Progression Integrating Brain Imaging and -Omics Data
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Investigators: (MPI), Qi Long (MPI)
Intervention
The Intervention theme advances the integration of imaging and therapy to improve precision and effectiveness in the treatment of brain tumors. By leveraging cutting-edge neuroimaging tools, Cancer Neuroimaging Research Program investigators are developing strategies that enhance targeted drug delivery, refine surgical and radiotherapy planning and establish prognostic imaging biomarkers of therapeutic response. These efforts aim to advance imaging to optimize therapeutic strategies and accelerate the clinical translation of novel interventions for patients with cancer.
Ongoing Projects
- Enhancing Delivery and Efficacy of Theranostic Antibody Treatment in Glioblastomas by Image-guided Focused Ultrasound Blood-brain Barrier Disruption
- Supported by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
- Investigators: (PI), (Co-I)
- In vivo Imaging and Quantification of Oncolytic Viral Loaded mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapies
- Supported by the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT)
- Investigator: (PI)
- IL13R¦Á2-targeted Radioimmunotherapy for Glioblastoma
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Investigator: (PI)
- Leveraging PET Imaging to Monitor CAR T Cell Trafficking to Glioblastoma
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI)
- Investigator: (PI)
- Personalized Neurostimulation for Smoking Cessation in Cancer Patients: An Image-Guided Approach
- Supported by the Cancer Neuroscience Program
- Investigators: George Kypriotakis (MPI), (MPI), Francesco Versace (MPI)
- SPI-RADS: Establishing an Imaging Reporting & Data System for Spinal Metastasis Treated with Stereotactic Body Radiation Treatment
- Supported by a UT MD Anderson Internal Research Grant
- Investigator: (PI)
Insights
The Insights theme leverages advanced neuroimaging approaches, from preclinical models to human studies, to illuminate how cancer and its treatments influence brain structure, function and behavior. By integrating quantitative imaging, cognitive assessment and behavioral metrics, Cancer Neuroimaging Research Program investigators are uncovering the biological underpinnings of neuroinflammation, treatment-related neurotoxicity and cancer-associated cognitive and behavioral changes. These efforts aim to identify sensitive biomarkers, guide supportive care strategies and accelerate the discovery of therapies that protect or restore brain health in patients with cancer.
Ongoing Projects
- Brain Age Gap and Structural Brain Changes as Risk Factors in Young Glioma Survivors: Impact of Surgery and Radiation
- Supported by the UT MD Anderson Survivorship Seed Grant
- Investigators: (MPI), Michael Roth (MPI), Shiao-Pei Weathers (MPI), (Co-I)
- Brain and Biofluid Biomarkers Underlying Cognitive Decline Following Immune-Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma
- Supported by the UT MD Anderson Cancer Neuroscience Program Grant
- Investigators: (MPI), Jeffrey Scott Wefel (MPI), (Co-I)
- Multi-parametric MRI Assessment of Brain Connectivity and Spectroscopic Biomarkers in Patients with a Substance Use Disorder
- Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- Investigator: (PI)
- Neurobehavioral Impacts of Melanoma Therapies: Insights from Advanced Neuroimaging and Predictive Modeling
- Supported by the UT MD Anderson QIAC Partnership in Research Grant Program
- Investigators: (MPI), Maria Kristine Gule-Monroe (MPI), (Co-I)
Publications
Alizada S, Eldaya RW, Salim HA, Taslicay CA, Gubbiotti MA, De B, Weathers SP, Wintermark M, Al Qudah H. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2025 Dec 4;46(12):2697-2704. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A8872. PMID: 40506234; PMCID: PMC12687948.
Amer A, Ansari S, Krayyem A, Kundu S, Khose S, Pokhylevych H, Calle S, Patel CB, Yang Z, Liu HA, Johnson JM. J Comput Assist Tomogr. 2025 Jul-Aug 01;49(4):656-661. doi: 10.1097/RCT.0000000000001716. Epub 2025 Jan 27. PMID: 39876523; PMCID: PMC12237096.
Bejugam D, Peck KK, Saha A, Yllera-Contreras E, Yildirim O, Arevalo-Perez J, Krebs SS, Lis E, Karimi S, Holodny AI. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2026 Jan 22:ajnr.A9181. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A9181. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41571404.
Chang MC, Malut VR, Mahar R, Rushin A, McLeod MA, Pierre GL, Malut IR, Staklinski SJ, Glanz ME, Ragavan M, Sharma G, Madheswaran M, Badar A, Rao AD, Law BK, Kilberg MS, Collins JHP, Kodibagkar VD, Bankson JA, DeBerardinis RJ, Merritt ME. Sci Adv. 2025 Mar 28;11(13):eadr0568. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adr0568. Epub 2025 Mar 26. PMID: 40138413; PMCID: PMC11939044.
Dagher SA, Alizada S, Al Qudah H, Waguespack SG, Shah KB, Eldaya RW. Neuroradiol J. 2025 Jun 27:19714009251356278. doi: 10.1177/19714009251356278. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40576016; PMCID: PMC12204987.
Dagher SA, Johnson JM, Mohamed RMM, Ansari S, Mawlawi O, Liu HL, Wintermark M, Schellingerhout D, Flynt L, Yeboa DN, Weinberg JS, Ferguson SD, Gule-Monroe MK. J Neurooncol. 2025 Nov;175(2):549-560. doi: 10.1007/s11060-025-05146-2. Epub 2025 Jul 1. PMID: 40591209; PMCID: PMC12420720.
Eldaya RW, Kaya D, Williams M, Calle S, Schellingerhout D. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2025 Jan 8;46(1):160-165. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A8521. PMID: 39667825; PMCID: PMC11735445.
Gajecki L, Lebedeva IV, Liao YR, Ambriz D, Carter LM, Kumpf M, Lovibond S, Hachey JS, Graham MS, Postow M, Lewis JS, Andrew DP, Baca M, Sch?der H, Larson SM, Veach DR, Krebs S. J Nucl Med. 2025 Apr 1;66(4):605-611. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.124.268762. PMID: 39978817; PMCID: PMC11960613.
Gule-Monroe M, Chasen N, Long JP, Kumar VA, Shah K, Chen M, Stafford J, Chung C, Wintermark M, Hou P, Sura E, Wang C, Weinberg J, Liu HL. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2025 Jun 3;46(6):1231-1237. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A8590. PMID: 39572196; PMCID: PMC12152807.
Kaffey Z, Mirbahaeddin S, Wahid K, Kamel S, Vouffo M, Otun AO, Belal Z, Aponte Wesson RA, Carriere PP, Dede C, Maniakas A, Goepfert RP, Garden AS, Lee A, Choi KY, Christensen JM, Lincoln C, Manzar GS, Dudzinski SO, Thomas R, Mehrens H, Cardoso RC, Schellingerhout D, Watson E, Chen MM, Lai SY, Fuller CD, Moreno AC, Humbert-Vidan L; MD Anderson Head and Neck Cancer Symptom Working Group. Radiother Oncol. 2025 Jul;208:110917. doi: 10.1016/j.radonc.2025.110917. Epub 2025 May 2. PMID: 40320174; PMCID: PMC12158629.
Kamel PI, Doo FX, Savani D, Kanhere A, Yi PH, Parekh VS. J Imaging Inform Med. 2026 Feb;39(1):962-972. doi: 10.1007/s10278-025-01541-3. Epub 2025 May 29. PMID: 40442564; PMCID: PMC12921075.
Krebs S, Baird L, Pirovano G, Yamaguchi A, Coll RP, Lee JT, Carroll LS, Pomper MG, Manning HC. Mol Imaging Biol. 2025 Dec;27(6):877-882. doi: 10.1007/s11307-025-02054-9. Epub 2025 Sep 19. PMID: 40971127.
Lam K, Ozkizilkaya HI, Milton DR, Dono A, Liu Y, Kundu S, Kumar VA, Johnson JM, Esquenazi Y, Patel CB, Ballester LY. Neurooncol Adv. 2025 Apr 28;7(1):vdaf088. doi: 10.1093/noajnl/vdaf088. PMID: 40575414; PMCID: PMC12199353.
Michel KA, Harlan CJ, Walker CM, Merritt ME, Chen Y, Lai SY, Bankson JA. 2026 Mar;95(3):1671-1683. doi: 10.1002/mrm.70117. Epub 2025 Oct 12. PMID: 41077903; PMCID: PMC12746374.
Msherghi A, Glue-Monroe M, W Eldaya R, Pirhoushiaran M, Al Qudah H, Taslicay CA, Alizada S, Salim HA, Y Ballester L, Wintermark M. Neuroradiology. 2026 Jan 26. doi: 10.1007/s00234-026-03904-1. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41582099.
Msherghi A, Wong F, Xu G, Mawlawi O, Elhadi M, Alsharedi M, Salim HA, Alizada S, Ray WJ, Puduvalli VK, Wintermark M. J Nucl Med. 2025 Dec 3;66(12):1883-1890. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.125.270661. PMID: 41101978.
Muir MT, Noll K, Patel R, Prinsloo S, Michener H, Kumar VA, Ene C, Ferguson S, Weinberg JS, Lang F, Taylor BA, Prabhu SS. J Neurosurg. 2025 Oct 24;144(2):324-335. doi: 10.3171/2025.6.JNS242301. PMID: 41135113.
Muir MT, Noll K, Prinsloo S, Michener H, Traylor JI, Kumar VA, Ene CI, Ferguson S, Liu HL, Weinberg JS, Lang F, Taylor BA, Forkel SJ, Prabhu SS. Hum Brain Mapp. 2025 Oct 15;46(15):e70340. doi: 10.1002/hbm.70340. PMID: 41099461; PMCID: PMC12529647.
Muir MT, Noll K, Traylor JI, Patel R, Kumar VA, Prabhu SS, Hou P, Liu HL, Stafford RJ, Taylor BA. Neurosurgery. 2025 Oct 15. doi: 10.1227/neu.0000000000003792. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41090910.
Noll KR, Bander ED, Chen HS, Bradshaw M, Wefel JS, Kumar VA, Prabhu SS, Liu HL. Neurooncol Adv. 2025 Sep 2;7(1):vdaf192. doi: 10.1093/noajnl/vdaf192. PMID: 41019665; PMCID: PMC12461250.
Pirhoushiaran M, Walker-Charles K, Yao TH, Putluri S, Patel N, Wang DH, Wang I, Arjuna S, Dono A, Bueno A, Nguyen S, Balar AP, Huse JT, Kundu S, Esquenazi Y, Patel CB, Prabhu SS, Lang FF, Ballester LY. Noncoding RNA Res. 2026 Jan 17;18:22-38. doi: 10.1016/j.ncrna.2025.12.003. PMID: 41624475; PMCID: PMC12854873.
Punwani S, Larson PEZ, Laustsen C, VanderMeulen J, Ardenkj?r-Larsen JH, Autry AW, Bankson JA, Bernard J, Bok R, Bertelsen LB, Che J, Chen AP, Chowdhury R, Comment A, Cunningham CH, Dang D, Gallagher FA, Gaunt A, Gong Y, Gordon JW, Grimmer A, Grist J, Hansen ESS, Lerche MH, Hesketh RL, Hoevener JB, Hsieh CY, Keshari KR, Kozerke S, Lanz T, Mayer D, McLean M, Park JM, Slater J, Tyler D, Vanderheyden JL, von Morze C, Zaccagna F, Zaha V, Xu D, Vigneron D; HP 13C MRI Consensus Group. Magn Reson Med. 2025 Oct;94(4):1386-1400. doi: 10.1002/mrm.30570. Epub 2025 Jun 16. PMID: 40523079; PMCID: PMC12236423.
Salim HA, Msherghi A, Learned K, Zafereo M, Wang J, Dagher SA, Altintas Taslicay C, Dagher R, Alizada S, Hu MI, Cabanillas ME, Busaidy N, Hamidi S, Tawbi H, Li J, Ucisik FE, Wintermark M. Thyroid. 2025 Dec;35(12):1378-1390. doi: 10.1177/10507256251372639. Epub 2025 Sep 4. PMID: 40956665.
Semmineh NB, Guha I, Healey D, Chandrasekharan A, Quarles CC, Boxerman JL. Imaging Neuroscience. 2025 Mar 25:arXiv:2503.17600v2. PMID: 40196141; PMCID: PMC11975306.
Teo JM, Kumar VA, Khalaf AM, Noll KR, Ferguson SD, Ene CI, Prabhu SS, Wintermark M, Liu HL. Med Phys. 2025 Nov;52(11):e70138. doi: 10.1002/mp.70138. PMID: 41231662; PMCID: PMC12614290.
Tran HH, Yamaguchi A, Manning HC. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2025 Jun;52(7):2685-2709. doi: 10.1007/s00259-025-07103-7. Epub 2025 Feb 1. PMID: 39891713.
Vachha BA, Kumar VA, Pillai JJ, Shimony JS, Tanabe J, Sair HI. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2025 Sep;225(3):e2432163. doi: 10.2214/AJR.24.32163. Epub 2024 Dec 11. PMID: 39660823.
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Research Areas
Find out about the four types of research taking place at UT?MD Anderson.