Biographical Sketch

Dr. Hanzhang Lu obtained his BS degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (1996) and his Master's (1999) and PhD (2004) degrees from the Johns Hopkins University, all in Biomedical Engineering. He received his postdoctoral training at the Center for Biomedical Imaging, New York University Medical Center. He was on the faculty of UT Southwestern Medical Center from 2005 to 2014. In 2015, he joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University (JHU) School of Medicine. Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology at JHU. Dr. Lu's research is focused on the development of novel MRI techniques to evaluate the brain's vascular physiology and metabolism, as well as their clinical applications. Dr. Lu is on the editorial boards of Neuroimage and NMR in Biomedicine, and serves as a charter member of NIH's Medical Imaging (MEDI) Study Section.

Research Summary

Dr. Lu's research is focused on the development of MRI techniques to understand brain physiology and pathophysiology. He has previously developed MRI pulse sequences to measure cerebral blood volume (CBV) and cerebral blood flow (CBF), for both resting-state measurements and task-evoked changes. His more recent work involves the development of a novel pulse sequence, T2-Relaxation-Under-Spin-Tagging (TRUST) MRI, to measure brain venous oxygenation and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) in humans without using exogenous contrast agent. He has conducted a multi-site trial of the TRUST technique to demonstrate its portability and reproducibility. Working with collaborators, he has demonstrated its clinical utility in Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, aging, neonates, anorexia, glucose transporter deficiency, sickle cell anemia, and cocaine addiction. Dr. Lu also has strong interest in the use of gas challenges such as CO2 and O2 inhalation to probe brain physiology. Over the past few years, his laboratory has made meaningful contributions to this rapidly growing field. His group has published an important paper reporting a neural suppression effect of CO2 on the brain, by using both MRI and EEG modalities. He has also conducted substantial work on optimizing imaging techniques to map cerebrovascular reserve with gas challenge, including breathing apparatus, inhalation paradigm, image acquisition protocol, and data analysis strategies. The goal of this line of work is to enable gas-inhalation MRI in routine clinical examinations. Dr. Lu's research has been funded by NIBIB, NIMH, NINDS, and NIA.

Contact Information

Address 
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 
600 N. Wolfe Street, Park 322 
Baltimore, MD 21287 

Email: hlu3 at jhmi.edu

Curriculum Vitae

  • Current Appointments
    • Associate Professor, Department of Radiology 
      2015 - Present 
      Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
    • Adjunct Associate Professor, Advanced Imaging Research Center 
      2015 - Present 
      UT Southwestern Medical Center
  • Education and Training
    • Postdoc Fellow, Medical Imaging, Radiology 
      2004 - 2005 
      New York University, New York, NY
    • PhD, Biomedical Engineering 
      2004 
      Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
    • MSE, Biomedical Engineering 
      1999 
      Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
    • BS, Biomedical Engineering 
      1996 
      Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
  • Professional Experience
    • Associate Professor, Advanced Imaging Research Center (AIRC) 
      2010 - 2014 
      University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
    • Assistant Professor, Advanced Imaging Research Center (AIRC) 
      2005 - 2010 
      University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
  • Previous Appointments
    • 2013-2017 Charter Member, NIH Medical Imaging (MEDI) Study Section
    • 2015-2018 Member, ISMRM Annual Meeting Program Committee
    • 2011-2013 Member, ISMRM Trainee Stipend Committee
    • 2005-2014 Alternative Chair, UT Southwestern Advanced Imaging Research Center Protocol Review Committee
    • 2012-2013 Program Director, ISMRM Brain Function Study Group
  • Affiliations
    • International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
    • Organization for Human Brain Mapping
  • Awards and Achievements
    • 2002 Student Stipend Award, 10th Scientific Meeting of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
    • 2003 Suraj Manrao Award for Student Travel, Experimental NMR Conference
    • 2003 Travel Award, Organization of Human Brain Mapping
    • 2004 Phi Beta Kappa Society 
    • 2004 Young Investigator Award, Gordon Research Conference on Brain Energy Metabolism and Blood Flow
    • 2005 UT Southwestern Endowed Scholar in Biomedical Research
    • 2007 Friends of Alzheimer's Disease Center Research Award
    • 2011 Elected Program Director for ISMRM "Current Issues in Brain Function" Study Group
    • 2013 Mentor, ISMRM Young Investigator Award semi-finalist
    • 2013 Mentor, ISMRM Junior Fellow Award
    • 2013 Appointed Charter Member, NIH MEDI Study Section
    • 2014 Chair of the organizing committee of ISMRM-sponsored workshop on functional MRI
    • 2015 1st-place Poster Award, ISMRM Perfusion Study Group Poster Awards
    • 2015 Member of ISMRM Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC)

Publications

For a list of Hanzhang Lu's most recent publications searched from the NIH's PubMed Database, please use this Search Link.